


The Remnants of Earth: Volume II

by Rose_Bride



Series: The Remnants of Earth [4]
Category: RWBY, Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Conspiracy, Drama, Gen, POV Alternating, RWBY au, with the characters from Arc V
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-12
Updated: 2017-11-22
Packaged: 2018-08-30 12:42:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 64,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8533498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rose_Bride/pseuds/Rose_Bride
Summary: The gears have been put into motion, stirring everything up, brimming with old grudges and scars, bringing into question all of what our lives stand for, and with them the uncovering of old forgotten stories.After all, what is in a story?





	1. Prologue

**["…Perhaps victory is in the simpler things that you've long forgotten; things that require a smaller, more honest soul."]**

**[An honest soul will rise you say? Over what? Injustice? Cruelty? ….Evil? ]**

.

.

"So, you already know why I called you here," the man spoke, still not facing him.

Here of course being a small, dingy rental office in an abandoned building where he could practically hear the cockroaches' mating ritual and the mold growing as he breathed on the humid air.

"To be fair, it was my employer who cited me here."

Now that caught his attention as he sharply turned around. Roman got a good look at his host: It was a tall man, blond slightly spiked up hair and a prominent nose that, despite being no taller than himself, he still managed to make it seem like he was looking down on him. The man was wearing a formal purple uniform for kingdom dignitaries, but he had already shown Roman the gold and black insignia that identified him as a …coworker? Crime partner? Yeah, he liked the last one better.

"The likes of you should watch their tongue, Torchwick. After all, you are expendable," he told him with a faint sneer.

"You mean as opposed to you?" he pressed, not liking in the slightest his high-handed attitude. He relished in the way his jaw tightened, his nostrils flared slightly and his eyes now looked like slits.

.

.

 **["Of course not** **. People would think conflict is between good and evil, but real conflict is born from truth and lies."]**

.

.

Still, after a few seconds, he sighed and seemed to relax again, regarding him with a wide smile that could probably fool anyone. Roman had seen his fair share of them to call the bluff.

"Why don't I introduce myself? Jean-Michel Roget at your service," he introduced, pronouncing the T of his name like an R for some reason.

"A pleasure, Roget. Now here's an idea, why don't we skip this charade and get down to business?" Roman said, already feeling himself in the need for a smoke.

His smile receded a little, but he still looked pleased with himself as he pulled out an envelope from his person and slid it across the tattered desk; the new instructions. He ought to read them, memorize them and they both had to destroy them to the last file.

Which meant he was stuck with this man for at least a couple of hours. Terrific.

.

.

**[Because lies are the source of all conflict? People claim to hate lies, they claim uphold truth as one of the greatest virtues; isn't that too simple?]**

.

.

"Unlike you, I'm not expendable, not in the slightest," he heard all of the sudden, making him lose the thread of reading on something about a dance and a …harvest? No, that couldn't be right.

"I can wait to hear more about it," he said, rolling his eyes. He tried to find the line again about a team and cameras. "You should, I may offer you a chance to become… vital for this project," he said now facing him and showing him his scroll, shining on the screen where four girls, one of them with the same defiant face he had come to hate in the past few months.

"I'm listening."

.

.

**["No, because lies hide facts, while truth helps shine light upon them-"]**

.

.

**∞**

.

.

**[…And in turn, facts ought to hold truths, if it is natural to believe so; then….]**

.

.

**[…What is in a story?]**

.

.

Before he turned the handle, he had to stop a little to catch his breath. The hallway was far bigger and silent than he remembered, and it made him uneasy. Before his mission, he had never thought too much about it, but the lack of sounds, of color and of natural light made this place feel eerie.

He needed to get away from the feeling. So he ran.

.

.

**[…]**

.

.

**[What? Don't you _love_ stories?]**

.

.

"So you finally grace us with your presence." He heard Yuri say as soon as he entered the communications hall.

"Be nice to him. He just got out of the medical ward, right? I mean, I completed my mission without landing any injuries, but what do I know?" said another high-pitched voice, and Dennis didn't have to turn to know Sora was there.

"My apologies, although I doubt a scouting mission hardly matches an infiltration, but what do I know, right?" he countered.

His reward was, of course, Sora seething and grumbling, along with Yuri's chuckles at him. The fun, however, short lived as the light went dim and the comms screens showed the non-descriptive AI profile and all three of them took their positions.

"NOW THAT EVERYONE'S PRESENT, LET US BEGIN THE MISSION BRIEFING!" said the artificial voice that he was now so familiar with. The screen changed to start showing several instructions, diagrams, maps and some profiles of persons of interest.

Another infiltration mission; this time less… messy than the last one. Mostly about retrieving important information.

 _'So you can finally put it behind you?'_  He heard a voice in his head question, bringing along the tremors on his hand. The dizziness returned and his breath started to hitch. This was the worst moment for this.

.

.

 **["Everyone loves stories** **. They feed their dreams and goals. They comfort the lonely nights and compel them to gather around and share…"]**

.

.

Dennis was brought back by a light nudge to his ribs. Apparently he had dozed off.

"…A COPY OF ALL THE PERTINENT FILES WILL BE TRANSFERRED TO YOUR SCROLLS." Was the last thing the AI voice said before disappearing. Usually this was their cue to leave and start the planning stage, but the screen continued on for a while before their insignia appeared on the screen.

He felt a shiver down his spine at the sight of it, because it could only mean one thing…

"Now that you have all the information, there are some extra details I need to share with you," stated the slightly distorted but still human voice, which Dennis had only managed to hear in person a handful of times in his life.

"Yes sir!" he said along with the others, backs straight and proper salutation.

"This mission officially starts at stage two of the Project. You will be working from the heart of the enemy and I chose you because you are the best people out of our training program for this. You all have your own experience that will be extremely useful, but this time you will be working as a team. I trust you can uphold our mission."

.

.

**[Indeed they do …Despite the fact that they never occurred.]**

.

.

He felt pride swell in his chest at the words. Yes, this was exactly what he needed, and he needed to move, focus all his energy back into the field; not be cooped up in a bed all day long.

_'It's finally over.'_

"Macfield, step forward." He heard.

"Yes sir."

"Your experience will be crucial for this mission, and since the doctors informed me of your restlessness, I will be assigning you as the leader. I know you won't fail me…" Such high praise only for his person, it made relief wash over him.

"Professor is too kind for giving me a chance to redeem my mistakes," he said humbling, bowing in respect.

"No need to be harsh with yourself. Yes, the subject escaped our sight before time and managed to injure you gravely…"

Ah yes, a determined little thing she was, he thought, feeling the slight tremors in his arm again.

.

.

**[Because there lies the crux of the matter: Things need not have happened to become true.]**

.

.

"…but we are here thanks to your accomplishments. Remember that."

"Of course sir; may I question you about the number of people in our team? Or will there be an appointed meeting in Vale?" he asked.

After all, if they were to pose as a team, they needed a fourth member.

"I see no need to wait, and she is eager to start already," the Professor answered, and the door creaked and they all turned to see the newcomer.

And a newcomer she was. The dim lights didn't allow him to examine her features properly, but he could see she still wore the red uniform and didn't have a single badge, a high pony tail, and a ribbon. She looked eager indeed; maybe too eager. Her power, however, was palpable. The moment she entered the room, there was a shift in the environment and Dennis thought he could perceive a smell of… ozone?

"She has already been briefed extensively about the mission. Serena, step forward."

Whatever the Professor was informing this 'Serena' girl was lost to him once the light of the screen illuminated her features and brought attention to a strange glint on her wrist.

_'Did you really think it was over, Dennis? It's not. Not even close.'_

No, of course not. He was a fool for even considering it.

.

.

**[I'm …intrigued by how people can even take their dreams, ambitions and ideals and call them truth]**

.

.

**[I find this truth more fascinating than facts.]**

.

.

 **[Despite** **,** **or maybe because of this, stories are the truths that will endure when mere facts become dust and ashes, forgotten** **.** **]**

.

.

**∞**

.

.

**[…"So, what is in a story?"]**

 

Ozpin blinked several times before focusing again on the small person still perusing over his personal library.

"…I apologize, can you repeat that?" he requested.

She seemed a little miffed at the request, seeing as she stopped going through the pages of one of them to look at him with a pout.

"I said: what is in a story?" she repeated, punctuating the question.

"That is an odd question," he responded, trying not to sound too puzzled lest she take it on a personal level.

"Everything is an 'odd' question to you. Can you ever give me straight answers?" she snapped and closed the book harshly as if to make a point.

Really, he would take it as a compliment to perplex anyone several times older than his person, but considering her past experiences, it was probably the wrong approach.

"My apologies, Ruri, but can you elaborate further?" he requested of her.

This man was exasperating, always talking in riddles, always drinking coffee, always with that stupid melancholic face whenever he drifted over to memory land, and always, always too soft-spoken for her tastes. She could never trust him, but it wasn't like she had much of a choice. Her other choice was to come back to a little suffocating room trying to count the days as they passed,but she was stuck here as much as she was in that cell.

And Ruri had resigned to have traded a small cage, for a much ample and comfortable one, but a cage still.

"I mean, why do you have so many stories in here? I thought your personal library would have important files or information, but it's nothing but stories: myths, folktales, fables, and fairytales? Why? What can a man like yourself find in children's stories?" she finished her ramble, trying to smooth her plumage. It always ruffled when she was agitated.

"Ah, now I see. Were you curious about Beacon? Or my person? I told you I would answer all your questions," he said finally standing up from his place and nearing her.

"…" Right, because asking him questions had been so productive in the past week.

"I find them …fascinating," he finally said. "You can learn so much about people through them."

"They're just bedtime stories." That's right, only ridiculous stories to comfort kids in the night.

"Bedtime stories that people bothered to pass down from generation to generation, to immortalize in paper, engravings and art," he countered this time.

"Only because they refuse to admit they are lies. They try to make them meaningful through pointless representations," she muttered.

For a minute she thought she may have said the wrong thing because an awful silence fell. All that was heard was the constant ticking and moving screws.

"You are correct. They are still not real. No matter how much people try to bring them to life, it doesn't change that fact…."

Of course it didn't. The world didn't care for silly little stories about a bluebird who could grant wishes or a snow witch with a frozen heart.

"….But does that take their feelings away?"

"I don't understand."

"The stories are fake. People eventually realized that, but does that mean that the things they learned through them are fake too? Yes, it was all fictional, but thanks to them, they may have found something real in them. Does that become fake too? Does it make it go away?" he asked.

"I guess not," she said in slight consideration. So people could find something true about themselves even inside a lie? "But the way you say it, it sounds ….dangerous."

After all, what if people are unable to separate reality from fantasy?

"There has been that fear before; that letting something that held so much power over people continue existing. At some point, there were people bent on destroying all those forms of expression. They genuinely believed it was for the best…." he said.

"…But people refused to hand that right over and fought fiercely protecting it," she finished. The Great War only seemed to prove her point, honestly.

Or maybe more than anything, she just had more than enough of lies in her life.

"…And sometimes it's just nostalgia," he added. "I'm old, Ruri. My mind is no longer what it used to be, and sometimes it just helps me remember better times," he admitted, sipping from his mug.

She could relate to that.

"About what we talked about yesterday…" She felt her chest tighten at his words, but refused to give into the feeling just yet.

And she saw him pulling something from his vest: a bracelet.

"…It appears we have found them."

_'My brother… Yuto.'_

.

.

**[The answer matters not, because for _them_ that truth will always sway them more than facts…**

**When it suits their needs that is, and here and now to _me_ , it does.]**

**∞**

“Bad news everyone, seems like neither Masumi, Sawatari nor Yaiba will be able to join us” said Yuzu looking at her scroll with a frown.

“What about Hokuto?” asked Reiji.

“Oh! He was never interested, he says theater has never been his thing.” Said Yuya with a shrug. “Something about everyone singing being annoying.”

“Tough luck let’s get inside before the lobby gets to overcrowded” said Gongenzaka lookin at Reiji and his brother.

"Are you sure you will be fine? There will be a great number of people?" He heard Reiji ask to his brother.

"…Yes, I do think so," he answered almost like a whisper.

Gongenzaka could see Reiji still doubted the sentiment. Not surprising, considering how this kid in particular seemed to be a bundle of nerves made to look like a person, and per Reiji's own account he was scared of strangers, crowds and loud noises.

Vale's second biggest stage/theater may as well be synonymous for 'bear death traps'.

"Worry not, Reiji. I the man Gongenzaka will do everything in his power to assure Reira's enjoyment."

Reiji seemed to be at loss of words for a few moments. That or he was just being himself. It was hard to tell sometimes.

"I appreciate that."

In accordance to his word, he exchanged seats with Yuzu so Reira would be in between his brother and himself, when they arrived to their seats and noticed that Reira would have to sit with in the left far side, which meant strangers.

Once they finally squared away the seating arrangements, the lights went out.

The air was still with anticipation, as the different performers took their places on the stage. Or at least that's how it looked like until he noticed that they had been carrying abnormally long pieces of long fabric that flowed with their movements as if they were a mantle… of mist? No, it was snow.

And with the realization made, the scenery took form before his eyes: it was a snowy village.

The place was very dimly lit and it had remained that way even when a female performer dressed in gold, red, and orange colors that dimmed lightly in the dark started to sing about stars, her home, beauty and love.

A glowing ember in the cold, he realized, when she was holding a particularly long note.

Then a pause, and his sight was blinded by colors.

***THE FUN HAS JUST BEGUN!!!!***

He needed a moment to blink away the slight annoyance and realized that after the flash, a curtain of colors showed the entirety of the stage. The stage was full of people, props, and the mountains resembling the snow and in the distance a dark castle.

Of course, the set up was made so that all eyes would still be fixed on the glowing performer –the protagonist – in the middle of it all, hanging from the sky.

Like a bird, glowing gold made up the flames. 'A firebird,' he realized with wonder.

"Reira? Is this to your liking?" he asked, seeing as he was now perched on the edge of his seat.

Reira didn't answer. He barely acknowledged the question, his attention completely and whole-heartedly focused on the stage.

"Is he ok?" asked Yuya from the seat farthest to his left.

"I believe so," he responded uncertainly.

"I the man Gongenzaka think he might be immersed in the story," supplied Gongenzaka from the other side of Reira.

"It's possible. After all, this is our first time seeing a live show like this," he commented. More specifically, the special effects didn't look like anything he ever saw before, not even in movies. "…Those sparks…is that…?"

"Is not Dust," responded Yuya from the extreme left. "Not exactly, anyway. It's charged and used like it, but it does nothing but create pretty effects," he explained.

Ah, yes he remembered now. Mock Dust, the ending result of a failed attempt to synthetize artificial Dust.

"I had no idea it could be used like that," he mentioned. He wasn't even aware it had made it to the market.

"No one did …except for my Dad," responded Yuya with what sounded like begrudging respect-

 

They all stared at Yuzu seated in between Yuya and himself, from where the shushing sound had come and there she was, holding a finger to her lips and frowning.

"Can't you keep quiet!? I'm trying to pay attention," she admonished and turned her face back at the performance.

"But, you already know how it-" Whatever Yuya was going to say was interrupted by his choking noises, and Reiji found himself smiling at the sight of Yuzu with a handful of popcorn in her hand.

"There is more where that came from, now shush." And that was the end of it.

Afterwards, Reiji couldn't help himself to be drawn into the play. It was a rather …free adaptation of "Firebird" seeing as instead of a weaver, the protagonist was a singer and storyteller, the known to weave stories so captivating that people traveled from all around to hear her. Amongst them there were some who promised her richness, fame and power if she agreed to leave her village for good and share her talent with the world.

She refused every time, claiming that anyone with a heart to listen and a soul to understand were welcome in her village if they wanted to hear her so much, but that she could never leave her home unattended.

The most impressing feature of the setting, Reiji decided after a while, was the sheer amount of detail in it. From the scenery looking fluid and alive instead of the wooden props he was used to seeing in regular theaters, to the lighting and the costumes worn by the performers, each one different in colors, adornments and motif, and no a single one repeated itself.

But of course the center of it all was the stellar one, with her jumping around, which was very much meant to look like flight, to the mannerisms and the expressions she made with each word.

Oh, and now another twist. Clothed in a dark outfit made from the night itself – or so the song went on - a dark figure descended. Instead of the Crow King being greedy and jealous of humans, he now wanted to steal the little 'birdie' because he was enraptured by her voice reaching his castle from across the forests.

And he hated her for it, or so he claimed.

Reiji was curious about the choice to involve what looked like an obsession or sorts, a rather twisted one at that, at least until the climax of the play.

After the Firebird denied his offers – jewels, banquets, a throne next to him – a battle ensued in the middle of the stage. It was nothing looking like the real thing of course, but the graceful twists and dancing moves made them look like a whirlwind made of starts and night with them in the middle.

Of course, when the Crow King lashed his final attack which Firebird succumbed to, falling into the snow in a burst of golden flames and feathers barely embers now, the forest made its way for dark figures with red eyes.

The Creatures of the Grimm.

All of them howled into the night like a maddening song. No, not like a song, but a bloodthirsty cry. After all, Firebird's song was what kept them at bay for so long. Of course in leading the army was the Crow King.

The townspeople who had just watched their only guardian fall, hope lost and tears in their eyes, resigned at their fate.

From the embers a blaze was born, and then a figure in flames walked through the crowds, bathed as if dipped in sunlight.

Then a song, a different one which carried not of heroes and monsters, or journeys, not even words, just a long wail of mourning.

"…Precisely, this is my greatest song, my last song,"

"An elegy, which shall burn my life."

As the now blazing figure was lifted into the air, the power which emanated from her was such that the light expanded and blinded everyone for a few seconds, until the figure burst into a ball of flames, sparks and feathers.

In the now silent darkness – not cold, but comforting – thousands of them, falling into the snow as if meant to have the last of its life vanished.

The Crow King stood there, alone. His army remains smoked away in the wind and he himself looking worse for wear

 _"I never thought a hero would ever come my way,_  
_But more than that I never thought_  
_you'd be taken away"_

A single feather fell upon his hands; a delicate and full of light construct that should have cracked in the dark hands of the King.

_"Now it's cold without you here  
It's like winter lasts all year"_

But it withstood, as did the others.

_"But your star's still in the sky  
so I won't say goodbye"_

The King placed the token inside his tunic, right onto his chest and flew away to the forest.

_"I don't have to say goodbye"_

.

.

.

 _"Didn't you_ _know_ _? If you open your heart and listen from the soul_ _,_ _you may find_ _a_ _golden feather carrying her song."_

 _"Or so people say_ _. Some claim_ _that it carries the pieces of her burned soul_ _._ _Others_ _say that she never died and that at nights you can still hear the forest murmuring her song_ _. O_ _thers claim that the feathers were never real, and that Firebird and the Crow King never existed."_

 _"What we do know is that since that winter, the castle fell silent_ _,_ _along with its dwellers, and the Creatures of the Grimm never stepped out from the forest again."_

∞

Silence.

Then a roaring ovation overtook the place. There were cheers and deafening applause, and Reiji wasn't familiar with this reaction. The awed silence was something that could be considered the highest regard an Atlas's audience could give.

But this was Vale, and what he had just witnessed deserved all that and more.

Yuzu and Gongenzaka were on their feet right now, throwing compliments and affectionate gestures in the air and even Reira looked so dazed that for once he didn't seem bothered by all the noise surrounding him.

"Wow, you gotta admit, Mr. Yusho really outdid himself this time," complimented Gongenzaka.

"Well, Miss Williams was spectacular too," added Yuzu, who turned to look at him now and giggled a bit before saying, "You should look at your face!" He felt himself shrinking a little in his seat.

"Well …It was an outstanding show," he said, adjusting his glasses in an attempt to save face, as he could feel the base of his neck warmer.

"…Thank you," he heard Reira's voice next to him.

"You should thank Yuya," he reminded him. After all, it was him who had gotten them the tickets, but when it looked like Reira was about to heed his words, his expression changed to a more nervous one again.

"…Yuya?" He heard Yuzu, but he couldn't answer. He couldn't look at her because that would mean to tear his eyes away from the stage. He also didn't need to look at himself to know why Reira and even Reiji were wearing concerned looks.

He was crying, and Yuya couldn't really help it. It really had been a beautiful play, something his Dad had poured his hearts into like he always did.

_‘The fun has just begun!!’_

"It's ok, Reira. He's not hurt or sad," reassured Gongenzaka. "He's just …overcome with emotions," he explained, and Reira seemed to take it well enough, even as they both saw Yuya's arm sneak over to Yuzu's back for a hold. He could not feel any judgement from either her or Gongenzaka.

He was always safe with them.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaannddddd... It's finally here you guys!!!
> 
> Finally the Volume II of this story has begun its course, and with luck I'll have it done before 2018 arrives :3 
> 
> What? Comments about this chapter? Other than it was freaking hard to write? Just one thing: After you read the chapter try reading the "conversation" alone, then re-read the chapter... and see if your reaction changes I guess?
> 
> I hope Yusho's show lived to the expectations ;D
> 
> Also as usual a million thanks and good wishes for AnimeGirl 144 who always manages to purge my drafts of horrographic mistakes and tolerates my typos, you are the best!!


	2. 1.- Old & New Affairs

"Can we go to the dining hall already? They'll take all the good stuff before we see him!" Yugo pouted at her, and Rin knew that if she didn't give in he would use his best weapon against her:

His puppy eyes.

"…Five more minutes and we'll go grab a bite to eat, ok?" she bargained after releasing an exasperated sigh.

Yugo practically jumped in excitement, and she couldn't blame him; she was starting to feel hungry too. After all, she could also smell the food all the way from where they were standing.

"Wow, I would have thought I was worth more than a five minute wait," said an all too familiar voice from behind them.

"Hmph, you're hardly one to complain, Mr. Dig & …Dive in…" Her words died out as the realization settled in for her.

"CROOOWWW!!!!"

Even though Yugo's yell had probably deafened the both of them, Rin couldn't find herself to care as she was swooped into a tight hug along with Yugo. She felt her eyes burning and felt a little ashamed of it; it's not like they had been separated for long, but she breathed in Crow's scent before finally letting go.

 _‘_ _I told you I would be back.’_

Yugo himself was much less restrained than her to let his tears roll down his face as he traded a couple of playful chokes with him, and Crow messed with his hair as usual.

"You- you're late, you idiot," she said, sniffling a little.

∞

"Must everyone here be so… loud?" she complained to her teammates, but more to Sora, considering he was the one more familiar with the place.

"It's normal, yes," he answered, seemingly enthralled by the dessert cart.

"Now, now Serena, remember that we must blend in. Part of it relies on our capability to adapt," he found himself saying, eyeing all the windows and doors of the dining hall, and eyeing the people around, particularly those who seemed less laid-back.

"Right Serena. Since you're the newbie here, you should be the one taking the first step. Go mingle with people."

"…And do what exactly? Should I question their battle stats?" she asked.

Dennis had to muffle a snort that would make his coffee scurry down his nose at the proposition. Looking at her face, he realized that she was being serious.

"Uh, no. Just ask their names, where they come from. You know just… chat," he tried.

The look she faced him with now made him wonder just how much more difficult this mission was going to be.

Of course, Sora deciding to test his resistance to diabetes was not helping.

∞

Beacon had changed. It had become apparent as soon as he stepped into the gardens, almost palpable in the air.

"Wow, look! So many people!" yelled Yuzu, eagerly drinking in the sight of the multicolored crowds. She looked perfectly delighted.

It made him smile, but the current energy had little to do with the change he perceived at the Academy. Sure it was louder and busier, but it was nothing new to him. His Beacon years had also hosted a Vytal Festival, so he was familiar with the feeling.

Which had little to do with the buzzing he perceived: excited yes, but also agitated, watchful, observant… wary.

However, this was not the moment to deal with these feelings; at least, not in front of the kids. So he let them be for the time being.

"Well, I'll see you guys later. I have some business to attend to," he said, pulling Yuzu into a hug. He tried to memorize everything from her shape, the warmth of her feelings, running like a clear river into the forest to join in the ocean.

"Remember to be careful this time," he repeated for the fifth time into her ear.

"I know, Dad," responded Yuzu, disentangling herself from his embrace.

"Sure thing. We've had more than enough for a while, anyway," said Yuya, trying to sound cheeky but Shuzo could see his forced smile. He looked like he wanted to do something, ask something, but thought better of it at the last moment.

He always looked like that, so Shuzo decided for both of them. He put an arm around his shoulders, and let him lean in for a few minutes. Yuya calmed down considerably and the shaky drowning sounds stopped to become a quiet undercurrent.

He sneaked his hand to ruffle the kid's hair a little bit – not that it would be noticeable – and told him, "Yuya, your Dad wanted me to tell you-"

"That he wished he would have been here," he finished in a drone-like voice. "I know," he grumbled, the current shaking a little now.

"Yuya, this place… hits too close home for your Dad. I'm sure you understand," he said. After Yuya just nodded, he continued, "He only has your best interests at heart. Just … give him time, ok?" Yuya lifted his eyes after the question, and he found them to be trembling with tears.

It was a look he was too familiar with: someone who was tired of waiting.

"We will be, Principal," said Gongenzaka, probably sensing how the conversation could turn uncomfortable at the drop of a hat. "We will focus only on the school and the Tournament. You have nothing to worry about," he said in reassurance, and Shuzo put a hand on his broad shoulders.

It was calm, solid and unshakable like a mountain, but it also had secret passages and hidden treasures beneath its surface; you just had to look carefully.

"Well, I'm not saying that you should do nothing but train and study. Try to get some time for yourselves. Remember that from this semester on, you will be shadowing professional hunters as well, so try to have some fun before that," he said, trying to reassure them that they still had time to be kids.

"Oh hey look, it's Reiji! Over here!" bellowed Yuzu all of a sudden, jumping a little and making signs to a tall young man a couple feet across from them. The boy was tall, almost as tall as him. He wore simple blue and white clothing, and the only thing that stood out in the distance was a red scarf worn around the neck.

As he saw him walking to them, he fixed his eyes on him. Of course, Shuzo dedicated himself to finding out everything he could about him and his family. The moment he was told the boy would be on the same team as his daughter, but he had yet to know him personally, and he wouldn't miss this chance.

"Here Dad, we've already told you about our team leader, right?" spoke Yuzu, conveniently leaving out that he was also her partner.

"A pleasure to meet you, sir," Reiji greeted the man, bowing formally to him, not unlike Gongenzaka who seemed to nod approvingly. This wouldn't do.

"Come on, let's not be so formal!" he exclaimed, reaching out for his hand. Reiji eyed him and his salute for a minute before giving in and accepting it after adjusting his glasses.

Ah, yes he remembered Yuya and Yuzu making some jokes about that.

"Now that's better. So Reiji, I have a very serious inquiry for you, from huntsman to huntsman," he said, not releasing his hand.

Reiji seemed interested as he saw one eyebrow slightly rising, but he also looked beyond uncomfortable with the extended contact.

Feeling a bit devious, Shuzo added his other hand for good measure and it was at this point that Reiji was eyeing Yuzu in a silent plea for help.

"Dad, please don't-" started Yuzu, but she was interrupted by Yuya looking a little too eager to see this unfolding.

"…Have you at any moment been subjected to Yuzu talking in her sleep?"

Before Reiji could even process the question, Shuzo felt his head being smacked along with a deafening roar.

So much for being a concerned father.

"I have  _not_  done that since basic school," she said, punctuating each word and practically fuming.

"I… can attest to that," said Reiji after a while, earning a guffaw from Yuya and Gongenzaka, along with a mortified face palm from Yuzu.

"Excuse me," said a new voice behind them.

"Oh Glynda, long time no see," the father greeted. "How have you been?"

"Quite well," she answered, arching her eyebrow and he took the sign.

"Hey, why don't you go settle your stuff? I need to catch up with your teacher," he said and watched the students as they nodded and walked away.

"Ozpin needs to have a word with you," relayed Glynda the moment they were sure the kids were out of earshot.

∞

"Jeez, what's the deal with all these people?" he exclaimed as soon as he stepped out of the cable cart.

"Can't you for once not complain about ev- oh, that really is a lot of people," commented Yaiba, behind of him.

Hokuto was a little too winded to argue or even relish in being right. Everywhere he saw there were groups of unknown people. Some of them in casual clothing, others wearing their uniforms, and then there were lots of Faunus.

"Am I the only one who reads the school letters?" asked Sawatari behind them. When neither people answered him, he sighed a bit too deeply and added, "There was an email saying that the foreign Hunter Academies would be lodging all semester with us, you geniuses."

"Wow, you're a fast learner. I approve," teased Yaiba, directing a grin Sawatari's way. "I guess I never really thought about how many people would be coming for the Festival."

On his part Hokuto, swallowed any inner remarks he had about the commodity or the loud atmosphere when they passed beside a group of people fawning over a Faunus girl with a big hairdo.

"Has anyone heard from Masumi? She told me she would meet us at the station in Vale, but then canceled," he asked to them.

"…Not really. I got the same message, and I didn't meet with her at all during winter break, but I thought that was just me," said Sawatari.

"…Neither did we. She kept making excuses about it, too," added Yaiba, now sounding concerned.

Hokuto didn't say a thing, but while relieved that Masumi hadn't just been ignoring _him_ , he was also concerned. Ever since that episode at the hospital before winter break, she had been awfully distraught and absent-minded.

"Let's settle down first and see if we can contact her later, ok?" he finally spoke up.

As they walked to the dorms, he was slightly thankful that the crowd was diminishing, and figured out that the other students would be staying at a different building. He still caught sight of a couple snoopy ones around, but he let it slide.

Once they finally reached their hallway, he noticed that Team RYGY was there already.

"Oh hey guys!" said Yuya, letting a box drop and marched over to them. "How was your break?"

"Fine, fine, but I found out something worrying," answered Yaiba with deep-in-thought face.

"Uh?"

"After living in my luxurious chambers on my own, I can no longer stand my grandparents for too long," he said, adding a bunch of dramatic gestures that had Yuya and everyone laughing.

"Oh good. I thought I was the only one!" said a voice behind them.

"MASUMI!" All three of them, plus Yuzu, yelled and surrounded her in no time.

"Ugh, I'm right here you know," she mocked, holding her hands to her ears but smiling nonetheless. Hokuto was relieved to see her back to normal with her wit and sarcasm.

He almost missed being called a Momma's Boy or a Star Child.

"Sorry for not being in contact guys. I was a little busy during the break," she explained. "You know how my parents can get."

"Problems in paradise?" asked Yaiba.

And just for a second, a shadow ghosted over her eyes before she landed her finger in between his eyebrows.

"I'm starving. Wanna go grab a bite?"

∞

"Well I think it's exciting, you know? All these people from different schools and backgrounds in one place," said Yuzu after hearing a little too much complaining over the amount of people occupying their school.

After all, being able to see new places and meet new people was part of her reason for becoming a huntress.

"Let's face it Reiji. Between the two of us, I was the one stuck with a pack of whiny babies." She heard Masumi say and Yuzu saw his eyebrow raise at her use of the word 'pack' but nodded nonetheless.

"I think there's a free table in the back," she said after some scrutiny. After all, they had been standing around with their food for a while now.

Once they got settled at a table, Yuya was able to appreciate for the first time just how many people there were here. Above everything, however, he was excited to be back. He couldn't wait for the Festival to start and get to put in practice withhis training. Speaking of which…

"How come the other schools are already here? I thought the Festival had been delayed, for you know… the thing," he wondered trying not to sound too casual about it.

"Um who knows? Maybe they want us to have a, you know, better bonding experience?" suggested Gongenzaka.

"After or before we kick each other's buts in the Tournament?" questioned Masumi cheekily, grinning and managing to get a laugh out of him.

"Jokes aside, that is the whole point of the Festival, is it not?" said Reiji. Way to be a party pooper.

"Exactly! I say we should make an effort to meet some new people from the other kingdoms!" said Yuzu, looking excited…

 _'Great, more people to share my friends with…'_ But he managed to shake the intrusive thought before it could settle and… fester.

"Wow! Where did you get this from?" said a voice from behind Sawatari, no less.

It was a kid, or he looked like an overgrown kid from Yuya's angle. He had a blue jacket and cargo pants that would have looked ridiculous on anyone else, but to him it fit. He had baby blue hair that he picked up in a ponytail.

Also, he was practically drooling over Sawatari's plate.

"Get what from where?" he asked, clearly uncomfortable at the kid invading his personal space.

"That!" the kid declared, pointing at the sticky-looking dessert on Sawatari's plate.

"Oh! That is a Sweet Milk Apple Berry Pie with honey." Yuya looked briefly to Masumi, who just mouthed 'don't bother' while rolling her eyes and then he looked back at Sawatari drooling over the plate and adding. "It's my favorite."

"Can I have a bite?" the kid spoke and Yuya could swear his entire face and voice changed from one moment to another to an even more childish version, and for yet another moment, Yuya saw how everyone at the table seemed to be swooning at it, minus Reiji and Gongenzaka.

It was as if they were put under a spell, but as the kid reached out for the pie, he was stopped by a hand wearing gloves.

"That is not nice, Sora," the newcomer admonished. "You shouldn't steal people's food. There are plenty of sweets back at the serving table." He spoke in an easy-going way, but it was clear he was not asking. “Although, I think you already ate enough sweets.”

"But this guy took the last slice and-"

"Wait a minute. You were trying to steal from me?" yelled Sawatari, snapping from the reverie and pulling the plate away from the Sora guy's reach.

"No! I just wanted a bite," he whined and pouted at him with what Yuya could only call puppy dog eyes, if he ever saw them.

But Sawatari was unrelenting this time and refused again. By this moment, the Sora kid seemed to have abandoned any pretenses of niceness and grabbed one side of the plate to pull it back to him.

"Hehe, sorry about that. As you can see, he has quite a sweet tooth," said the newcomer once more. "I'll introduce myself. Dennis Macfield, at your service," he said, bowing to them, and Yuya had for a moment a really weird flashback of his Dad.

"…Drop it already, kiddo!!!"

"Ugh! You should learn how to share-"

"…Nice to meet you! Yuzu Hiragi," she said and skipped over to him. He had a head full of tangled ginger hair, and a mole below his eyes, as well as a prominent nose, but there was something else that caught her attention. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but that speech pattern…Are you from Atlas?" she asked.

"Stop being so stubborn. It's just pie-"

"Look who's talking! If you would have asked first, then-"

This 'Dennis' seemed to blink several times to her before answering and Yuzu took it as a sign that she guessed right, feeling a little proud too of herself, she knew all those books and foreign movies would help.

"Why yes indeed I am, milady," he responded, taking her hand and kissing her palm, making her feel hot to the tips of her hair. "I'm pleased to meet someone such as you."

Then, when Yuzu thought it couldn't be worse, apparently from out of nowhere, he produced a red rose and was offering it to her.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Yuya and Gongenzaka jump from their seats, throwing daggers at Dennis and probably angry at his improper behavior. Neither of them would have ever guessed that it would be common in Atlas, especially not from Reiji, who seemed a little taken aback too.

"Hmph. Such awful manners. Look, I don't care if you're from Atlas or not, but you can't just go around-" Whatever Hokuto was about to say was interrupted by a mass of golden, white and brown pie…

…Landing on Masumi's face.

A shattering sound was heard from where both Sora and Sawatari dropped the plate, followed by the longest silence Yuya experienced in quite a while.

In the few seconds that it took him to blink, there was a bowl of stew flying towards Sora's face…

But it promptly landed on top of Dennis, who had still been kneeling, after Sora deflected with no problems and Yuya winced at the sight of the slight vapor coming out from the guy.

Masumi, on the other hand, didn't look like she was sorry. In fact, she was grinning like a madwoman at the redhead.

"Now that was hardly necessary," he said, standing up. He didn't seem to care about the meat pieces falling to the floor. Instead, he grabbed a napkin to try to fix the mess of his hair and clothes.

"The hell it was. Next time, try to control your team a little better, will you?" she said, getting in Dennis' face in no time.

He looked taken aback that she had figured it out, or maybe it was because there was a thump heard when an apple hit Hokuto right between the eyes.

At this, Dennis looked flabbergasted and turned over behind him to a girl wearing a red jacket and a blue hair pulled up with a yellow ribbon. She still had her hand up in the air.

"You said we had to mingle," she spoke with an even voice and a completely straight face.

∞

"So, are we clear on the security measures for the foreign students?" asked Ozpin to Crow as they went for the last time through the settings and plans for the new arrivals and the grounds for the Festival, but the screen was interrupted by an 'ACCESS REQUESTED' window.

"Come in," he said, and from the elevator he saw Shuzo and Glynda walk into the office.

"You may want to check what comes flying from the north," advised Glynda before any type of greeting took place.

As they all watched a fleet of Bullheads fly by, Ozpin felt a major headache coming from his neck and he considered his options: Have a civilized conversation with either the currently present audience or Ironwood.

Or have them all here and hope for the best.

"He sure loves to bring his work everywhere he goes," commented Shuzo dryly.

"Sure, let's call it that," said Crow, still glaring at the window.

"If you have a problem, try not to take it out on him," chastised Glynda. "Take it where it belongs," she added.

"Who says I wasn't going to?" he countered.

"Crow, please," Ozpin stepped in, keeping his eyes on the window. "Running an academy and a military makes him a busy man. But yes, those are a bit of an eyesore," he conceded.

***ACCESS REQUESTED***

"Come in."

Everyone except Crow was quick to hide their frowns as soon as they heard the door sliding open, revealing Ironwood's white uniform and his person.

"Ozpin!" he heard him in an unusually spirited tone.

"Hello, General." He saluted back and stood at attention just to see what he made of it, but he suspected that Crow's eye roll diminished the gesture.

"Please, drop the formalities," he said and approached to shake his hand. He allowed it. "It's been too long." His eyes seemed to finally catch onto the fact that they weren't alone. "And Glynda! It has certainly been too long since we last met. You as well, Shuzo …Crow." He added barely acknowledging him, not a good start.

"Oh, James!" Glynda said in an overly sweet and fake voice. "I'll…" She then made a motion to leave but was stopped by Shuzo mouthing _'Don't even think about it'_ "…be right here."

This time he agreed. Leaving James and Crow in the same place without backups was not a wise idea.

She just sighed and remained in place.

"So… What in the world has brought you all the way down from Atlas?" he asked what was on everyone's minds. "Headmasters don't typically travel with their students for the Vytal Festival."

"Yeah and with all your army tailing you to top it," added Crow, probing him on his own if the grin was any indication. Ozpin had to admire that for once Ironwood seemed to be the one trying to keep the conversation cordial as he forcibly smiled at Crow.

"Well, you of all people should know how nice Vale this time of the year is, right Crow?" he answered and Ozpin pursed his lips at the sight of him pulling a canteen out of his jacket. "Besides, with Ozpin here hosting, and all of us reunited, it sounds like a nice chance to catch up."

So he didn't want to miss out on anything this time.

"I can certainly appreciate the quality time between friends. However, a small fleet outside my window has me concerned," he said in the most even way he could muster at the moment, but aware that Crow and Glynda's patience was wearing thin.

Shuzo, on the other hand, seemed to be evaluating the situation at hand.

"Well, concern is what brought them here," answered Ironwood after a short silence.

"Be as it may, ever since the Heartland incident, traveling has become …difficult. We don't wish to impose on you," Shuzo finally said, joining the conversation.

"Shuzo, I respect your opinion, but we all here know why I brought these backups," countered Ironwood.

"And we can appreciate the thought, but there is nothing happening right now that requires the intervention of the Atlesian Military," said Shuzo, crossing his arms.

"Especially not when there are other places that could appreciate the offer of help," added Glynda.

"You mean Heartland? And what could my army possibly do in a _ghost city_?" he asked, eyebrow raised challengingly.

"I have to side with him on this, Glynda," intervened Crow, looking at her and then at Ironwood. "After all, the time for helping expired a long time ago, hasn't it General?" said Crow with a glower.

"So juvenile of you to dish out low blows like this, Crow," said Ironwood, eyes narrowed. "What's done is done. Right now we can't waste time dealing with things already gone by."

"Right, let us all forget about the fact that the population of an entire city completely vanished under our noses. If they hadn't been Faunus…"

"Leave the Faunus out of this. It's not the moment."

"Of course it's not. It's _never_ the moment. Unless the White Fang gets involved, right?"

"Both of you cut it out," Ozpin ordered, leveling his eyes on both of them "Crow, I know that the Heartland incident is still a pressing matter, but you can't realistically place blame on Ironwood when we have yet to find out how it happened in the first place." Crow lowered his head a little at the scolding. "And James, I would have thought you could muster enough tact to handle a very tragic and sensitive situation without pressing anyone's buttons. We are in a time of peace. Shows of power like this-" he pointed at the window, "-are just going to give off the wrong impression," he finished staring at Ironwood. For now, Crow seemed satisfied enough that the general was also getting a tongue lashing.

"If what you said about the girls is true, and if what _your_ informants told us…" started Ironwood, but Ozpin couldn't hear more at the moment as he saw Crow and Shuzo tense.

"What I've told you about _them_ stays between us, Ironwood," he said gripping his cane tighter and made sure not to leave any wiggle room for questions in that matter. "If what they told us is true, we will handle it tactfully."

"…The last time you handled it tactfully, it cost you the life of Yoko," Ironwood said, unrelenting.

A pin could have dropped in the room and it would have echoed loudly in the tense silence.

"You don't dare to talk about her like-" started Shuzo, marching towards Ironwood and the temperature of the room dropped a few degrees, except around his person. But as he was in Ironwood's face, the general spoke again,

"I apologize. That was uncalled for." And maybe it was the way his wrinkles accentuated around his forehead, or the way his posture relaxed, but Shuzo breathed long and deep, and the feeling was gone.

"Ironwood, I believe it would be best if you leave for now," advised Glynda.

"…Fair enough, but until you give a reason, these men will not be going anywhere."

"James-" started Ozpin, but was interrupted by a ring of an incoming call, and he barely had enough time to realize it was the head cook of the school before the message began:

PROFESSORS! HEADMASTER!! ANYONE!!! PLEASE DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS!!! THEY ARE TOO MUCH FOR ME!!! THE SUPPLIES FOR THE ENTIRE WEEK ARE GONE AND-

The call was interrupted by a tomato landing on the screen and a malfunctioning sign appearing.

∞

"I'm King of the Castle. I'm King of the Castle…"

Sora's voice echoed in the entire hall while seated on his temporary 'throne' made up of stacked chairs and tables, shoving down some cupcakes and sodas into his bottomless pit of a stomach.

Dennis, on the other hand, was busy assessing the situation. He was appointed on the left flank and Serena was on the right, posed to fight.

The fact that her temporary weapon was a broom - or was a broom before she had broken the bristled tips on someone's head – didn't make her look any less intimidating.

Then he caught the sight of a shadow moving to her left.

"Serena! Engage and disarm him!" he commanded while he noticed the other shadow coming to him from the right. "Let me take care of her."

His loaf of bread clashed then against a baguette from the other team leader.

"Nice choice, and it's extra hard for good measure!" he said, giving in to fling his bread to her side. "By the way, what is your name?"

She just grinned and kicked him in the shins, making him lose his balance.

"Masumi," she answered, pointing the baguette at him.

"I'll make sure to remember." He then crouched and pushed against her mid side, intending to make her land on her back.

"Oh you don't have to. I'll make you," she said, grabbing him by the waist and twisting them to make him land on his back.

Dennis would be angrier if it wasn't for the pretty stars he was seeing right now.

"You should surrender now," Yuya heard her saying when she managed to yet again make him step back.

It really wasn't fair, though. She got to fight with a broom and all he had was the leg of a table, or was it a chair? He didn't remember.

"Fine, have it your way," she muttered before charging at him once again, and the splintered tip almost made contact with his face.

But something stopped it; or someone did.

"Try to sneak behind the kid. I'll distract her," Yuzu said. She was currently holding a meat fork as a sword and had tied a tray to her wrist as if it was a shield.

She was really a lifesaver.

"Roger," he said, running from the battle between them. He was still able to catch sight of the broom going against the tray.

And Yuzu breaking it in half with a slash of the long fork.

∞

"Uh? Why is everyone running?" Yugo asked to no one in particular when yet another student passed them with some stains on their uniforms.

"I think it's coming from the dining hall," Rin commented.

"Hey! Maybe there's a huge food fight happening!!" he asked thinking back to some movies or series where the first day started like that.

He saw how Rin only rolled her eyes at the idea, even as the number of people that passed by grew in number.

"Please Yugo," she started when they reached the entrance, and she started to pull at the handles. "I highly doubt an Academy as old and traditional as Beacon would ever… allow… a…" she stopped talking as they both took in the scene that greeted them inside the hall.

On one side, there was a mountain made of tables, chairs and Yugo thought he spotted a couple of vending machines in the mess too.

In the middle, there was a fight going on between two girls, one of them holding a broken broom stick and the other just with a shiny-looking shield.

"So much for a distraction! All you did was land our first prisoner of war," said the broomstick-wielding girl at the other one.

"I'll get him back!!" the other one yelled, fending off another attack with her shield.

Yugo's attention was diverted to a boy with red and green hair tied up to one of the chairs, looking utterly miserable and yelling something that was lost to his ears as another student put a napkin over his mouth.

"You know I think I already like this place," he said to Rin, who still seemed a little winded out about the scene.

"Uh-uh, Serena watch out!" yelled another voice from the ceiling, who now had been perched up on top of the chandelier.

Right after the warning came off, what looked like a rain of arrows flew through the air for Serena.

Scratch that; they were forks, butter knives and spoons. All of the utensils fell with such force even the spoons lodged themselves into the hardwood floor.

The blue haired chick barely avoided being hit by them, and Rin thought she saw her take a fork out of her hair.

The pink haired girl, on the other hand, was left out of the range and joined her team at the back of the room.

Rin thought she saw a shadow disappearing from the other side of the chandelier.

On the other side, a blockade was made simply out of two big tables put together in an arrow shape. On top of it there was a girl with long dark hair holding something pink in her hand as she yelled:

"Now that we take a hold of the all the dessert carts, let's show them!!"

There was a roar from behind her, and Rin finally saw what she presumed was her 'army.' Three short and skinny looking guys and a big broad one that she had trouble believing was a student, even if he donned the Beacon uniform.

She saw him make some much focused forms and some of the biggest cakes on the carts lifted in the air.

"Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful!" the dark haired girl screamed as she squished a muffin in her hand. "It will be delicious!"

One by one the rest of her team punched or kicked the cakes lifted in front of them, and for each one thrown at the opponent, a new one appeared in front as ammunition.

In the middle of the rain of frosting, she saw the same shadow slip past it, and appear in front of the 'prisoner' in the form of a tall boy with a long red scarf.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" yelled Yugo to him, catching his attention.

But it was too late, as another boy fell from the roof on the end of one of the tables, the same one the chair was on.

The last thing Rin saw when the boy landed on the temporary lever was the chair flying across the dining room to crash into one of the windows.

Enough was enough.

"STOP!!! YOU ARE ALL BEING COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS!!!!"

The yell echoed into the place with such force than even the windows trembled a little in the aftershock, and they all, including Dennis, stopped the fight to stare at the newcomer.

Only to feel frozen in place as he told her:

"You…you are-"

The words were stuck in his mouth as he felt the wind past him, and the sugary ammunition flew past him to cover her completely in a splash of frosting, fruit and jam.

The sight of her covered in colorful stains from head to toe with only her golden eyes staring at them was so ridiculous that it served him as a wakeup call. _'I knew it wasn't real'_ but then he caught sight of the boy next to her slowly steering away from her as she mouthed the word:

_'Run!'_

∞

Yuya's only thought when he had been thrown outside the window had been the only appropriate and coherent one since the fight started.

_'This is gonna suck.'_

Before, the chair he was strapped into had him crash into some other boy who seemed to be walking backwards for some reason, and afterwards all he saw was the roof and the sky mix together.

"What is the meaning of this?" he heard someone demanded, and it sounded clipped and stiff, sort of like how Glynda speaks. But that had to be wrong because this voice sounded deep.

"Ah-uh, give me a um …minute," he heard the other boy say. "Uh, let me help you." He felt his bindings come loose and the chair finally give into his weight, breaking it into pieces.

"Young men, I asked you a question."

It was only then that Yuya noticed the furry tail coming out the boy's clothes, and then he noticed the tall, broad man clothed in a pristine white uniform that was talking to them, and Yuya just knew that he and the other boy would be in trouble.

"How should I know?! I just arrived here and these people were having a food fight and then they splashed Rin with some… oh crap, oh crap!" He all but threw himself at the floor and covered his ears.

"Young man! You will address your superiors with the proper respect and-"

"Look, I'll pay my proper respects after I make sure my eardrums won't explode, and I would cover your ears if I were you!" the boy yelled, still on the floor.

Before the man could utter his disbelief, there was a soft whistle and then Yuya thought the sound barrier must have been broken because he felt himself going momentarily deaf and being pushed to the ground by some force.

 _'Thank the heavens for Aura.'_ He didn't need to look up to know that the windows had been shattered.

But Yuya never felt the pieces of glass land on his body, he looked up and next to the man - who now looked more than just a little winded - was Glynda, who had appeared with her wand pointed to the ceiling, where all the sharp and pointy shards were now floating.

"Told you." Yuya heard the boy say. He must have had a death wish.

But the man was not paying attention to them now, only looking at the dining hall while Glynda had repaired the windows with a flick of her wrist.

And of course behind them, Crow, the Principal and Ozpin were walking towards the place too.

All of them were silent and alternating their eyes between them and the dining hall, and then Crow whistled.

"Phew! That's what I call an opening ceremony," he said and helped them both to their feet. "Let me guess, you pissed off Rin?"

"Hey! This time it wasn't me!" the boy yelled, pointing at Yuya. "It was their wild group of friends."

And all eyes were now focused on Yuya.

_'This really is going to suck.'_

∞

"I hope you understand why I will not help you clean this mess," expressed Glynda, pacing in front of them.

The assembled group was, at that moment, busy sweeping, moping and scrubbing all over the place, even to the last corner, as per Shuzo's and Crow's own advice. Once they were done, they would be allowed to clean themselves; but only after the place was cleaned to Glynda's satisfaction.

"Yes Professor," the kids from Beacon said, all in a far from perfect unison. James even caught sight of the Akaba kid helping clean some of the surviving tables.

"As for you," he spoke, directing to his own students, who were still lining up in front of him awaiting their punishment "You have stained the name of Atlas Academy, both _literally_ and in spirit."

"Yes sir!"

"If it was up to me, I would ban you from participating in the Vytal Tournament and have you all shipped back to the Academy by _tonight_ ," he continued.

They all flinched before responding, "Understood sir!"

"However, since this is not my Academy, and we are guests here, your discipline falls into Headmaster Ozpin hands," he finished, allowing them a moment to sigh in relief.

"Thank you, General," Ozpin said, looking at the kids. They stared back at him, still stiff as a board but looking at the headmaster expectantly. "At rest," he spoke and watched with interest how they all relaxed. It wasn't a big improvement, but they no longer looked like they were tied to the ground.

He walked in front of them, eyeing all of them and stopped for an extra second in front of Serena before addressing their team leader.

Dennis Macfield, if he wasn't mistaken.

"Please explain to us what lead to this… event," he requested of him.

"Uh, I wish I could," he responded, looking bashful. "I was sure we were having an amicable talk and then I guess me and my teammates stepped over some… boundaries," he answered, adding a bit of a cackle to his statement.

"Right, let's call them that," someone said from the background, probably Yaiba as he was pointing at Yuya when Glynda glared in their general direction.

"I see, and I suppose the best way to settle down your differences was make a full live recreation of the Battle of the Fort Castle?"

"Ozpin, are you-" He heard James start but he held up his hand to silence the other man.

"That's right. It was not a food fight. It was a mere recreation of a historical battle that set the course of the Faunus Revolution and you were merely learning through the wonders of theatre, isn't that right?" he continued, feeling a smile tugging at his lips.

They all just stared back at him with dumbfound looks. They couldn't believe what they were hearing.

"Of course, being the lively kids that you are, you got carried away, and you must be reprimanded for the resulting mess, but I would never punish anyone over a cultural event, impromptu as it may have been."

He looked back at his peers who were just face palming, shrugging or grinning at him.

"So let's do this: like your new comrades, you will leave this place pristine and good as new and everything will be forgiven," he finished.

He then made a sign to all of the professors to follow him to the hallways, but stopped and added one thing,

"Welcome to Beacon."

∞

Ironwood was not happy. He rarely ever was these days, but it wasn't always that the source of his discomfort was a fellow huntsman; a man whom he worked with and admired.

And he had let him know as such as soon as they entered his office.

"I have to agree with Ironwood here. You were too tame with them," Glynda said, surprising him.

"Glynda, they're kids," Ozpin said to her, taking his seat.

"And kids need proper discipline," she shot back. "There is a time and a place for games."

"Maybe," he conceded. "But in no time, those times will become more far in between and scarcer, so why not let them have a couple of moments for being themselves?" he suggested, turning his chair to face the night sky.

"…Fine, if anything, now we have confirmation that it really is her," said Glynda.

"Did you think I was lying?" he asked, feeling a little offended.

"Of course not, but …" she stopped.

"It has been too damn long. We had given up on finding her," added Crow.

"Still, I don't know what you were talking about earlier," he said to them, pointedly ignoring Crow's annoyed glare.

"About?" asked Shuzo.

"The girls: your daughter, Serena and the Faunus girl."

"Her name is Rin," spat Crow glaring at him.

"Yes, her. They look nothing alike," he said.

There was a shift in the mood when he said this, and he saw them all exchange looks with Ozpin. Of course Ironwood knew what this meant; it was just different being on the end receiving of it

"No, they don't," agreed Ozpin without looking at him, and he sighed at this.

Just what were they hiding from him now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know? I kind feel like a cheat with this chapter because a little too much was taken from the original episode :P 
> 
> What there is tell this time? What longer chapters? Yep, guess I'm getting a little too meta with this >>, what else? Oh right! Yugo and Rin make an appearance and I think I finally figured out how to handle the new crowds of characters without being too overwhelmed, hopefully it'll work.


	3. 2 .- The Fun is Just Getting Started!!

The dining hall was strangely quiet after the Professors left them to clean; all of them seemingly sticking with their own team and wordlessly choosing a designed area to take care of. It was an almost ridiculous contrast with the ruckus that had reigned when they first arrived. Yugo wasn't sure he preferred this.

Like, minus the fact that they were now stuck cleaning, it had been totally awesome. The piling up mountain of tables? Cool. The rain of cutlery? Doubly cool. The sparring matches? He personally had his money on the blue-haired chick, but it had been quite a sight! And finally, flying food? He was 100% into it.

But again, right now, they were stuck with cleaning.

"Why are we stuck cleaning this mess too?! We didn't do anything!!" he yelled as soon as he realized that he had only managed to clean a corner of the dining hall instead of the half he thought he had done.

"Excuse me? I'm pretty sure she-" said some purple haired dude, pointing at Rin, "-was the one who went all crazy and 'decorated' the place all by herself!" he finalized, his complain throwing the mop to the floor.

"Just so you know, she has a name and is right here and can hear you all!" exclaimed Rin, all the way from the other side of the hall.

"…My point stands. By all means,  _you_ should be the ones doing the cleaning," he spat.

Hearing this, Yugo felt a vein pop on his forehead and before he knew it, his legs had carried him right in front of the guy.

"I have a better idea: why don't I mop this floor with your face?" he threatened with a growl, and before anyone could help it, his fist landed in the guy's gut.

"YUGO!" yelled Rin, running from the other side and he felt himself feeling a little guilty for the guy who was now on his knees coughing.

"What the hell is your problem?!" he heard the black haired girl ask, pushing past him to help the guy to his feet.

"Uh… fine. I guess it was not-" he started but Rin beat him having walked in between him and the other girl at some point.

"And why should _he_ apologize? Or clean this mess alone? The only reason we're helping you people is because Crow asked us too," Rin cut in, putting a barrier in between him and the other girl.

"Tch…" Yugo noticed how the girl flinched at the mention of Crow. Did she know him? "The punch was still uncalled for."

"So was your friend's opinion," he muttered, and of course it earned him a glare from both women now looking down on him.

"O-okay, why don't we cool down a little and talk it out calmly?" suggested a third girl now, the one wearing twin pigtails.

"Right, there is no further need to complicate matters like this," added another big guy, who looked like a giant from his spot on the floor. Was he a student too?

"Ugh, can you for once not stick your nose into  _everything_ , Yuzu?" questioned Masumi, rubbing her nose and feeling her head pulsing.

This was not what she had planned for her first day.

"Hmph! Well excuse me for trying to keep _communication_ open, at least some of us try," Yuzu countered, rolling her eyes at the girl.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"You exactly what I'm talking about, Miss _'we’ll keep in touch during the winter break’_ ,'" she responded, mimicking Masumi in the process.

And she felt a vein pop in her head. She had no right!

"So much for keeping calm," Yaiba whispered, feeling a sweat drop on his temple.

"Uh, yeah I think Yuzu is still mad at her," Yuya said from behind him, and Yaiba had to remind himself to keep himself from jumping.

"What do you mean?" asked Hokuto, holding his belly; it probably still hurt.

"Um, well you know, I think Masumi has been ignoring her for most of the winter break. She never responded to her emails and never confirmed her invitation for my dad's show or anything," Yuya said.

"Wait you too?" asked Yaiba, Hokuto and Sawatari in unison.

∞

As the banter kept on going on the other side of the hall, Reiji and Gongenzaka continued to do their part of cleaning up; although by the looks of it, they may have to do their friends part too.

"So, correct me if I'm wrong, but you're not from Vale, right?" questioned a voice from behind them.

Gongenzaka saw that it was the redhead from before. What was his name? Right, Dennis.

"I'm from Atlas," Reiji said from the side, never looking up from the table he was working on, taking the icing stains off.

"Not you. I do not live under a rock, and I know who  _you_  are, Reiji Akaba." At this Reiji rose up to face him. "I mean, how could I not know? Heir to the Leo Corporation, mmh? Your entry to Beacon caused quite a commotion back at home,"he said with a little laugh.

"…So it did," he said, adjusting his glasses.

"Well you know how… _patriotic_ the people from Atlas can be, right?" he said in a sing-song voice that Gongenzaka was sure only made Reiji bristle inside, for the bespectacled boy gripped the side of the table tighter. "But as I said, I was not talking about you, but your friends."…and he had problems deciding if Dennis had done it on purpose or not.

"Us? Why?" Gongenzaka asked.

"You're not from Vale, right? Mind if I ask where you are from?" Dennis asked, looking way too interested in such a menial fact, but Gongenzaka conceded.

"We're from Patch Island," he answered with a sigh. It really was inconsequential; for all intents and purposes, Patch was Valean territory.

"The three of you?" he pressed, eyebrows raised while he looked at Yuzu and Yuya for a second.

"Yes," he repeated. "North of the Vytal continent-"

"We know its location; it's a fascinating place. I've heard that it is riddled with Creatures of the Grimm," said a new voice, joining in on their talk. It was the blue-haired girl, who came now to stand besides Dennis.

"That's an exaggeration," he corrected. "As long as you don't venture too deep into the forest, there is no immediate danger." Gongenzaka stated feeling puzzled at her very serious statement.

To his surprise, Dennis laughed. It wasn't that silly, slightly fake-sounding giggle from before, but a full blown guffaw that had him bending over a little. Even the girl had a smirk on her face and a self-assured expression.

"Oh my… I'm sorry it's just… how do I put this? You sound exactly like we expected someone from Patch would sound like. You don't really seem to grasp how _horrifying_ the Grimm are for the rest of the population, do you?" explained Dennis, wiping a tear from his eye.

"I've never said that-"

"What our leader means, is that you practically live hand in hand with the very reason humanity has been forced into the walls in the first place; the reason why we were almost driven to extinction and somehow you are… used to it," explained the girl in a very straightforward way, but he could tell that there was a sense of wonder behind those words.

"I guess I see your point," Gongenzaka spoke, reminding himself that long ago Patch Island used to be called the Demon Island.

"Don't misunderstand, I admire the resilience of the population," she started. "I look forward to encountering you in the battle arena," she finished, extending her hand to her chest in a military-like salute.

"I'm most pleased by the offer. What is your name?" he asked, feeling like she was a person he could definitely get along with and Gongenzaka had to fight back some tears of joy, finally a kindred spirit.

"Serena," she responded with a satisfied nod, and Gongenzaka filled her on his name and training schedule.

"Aww, would you look at that? A new friendship has been born! This is the spirit of the Vytal Festival come to life, is it not? To be honest I’m a bit surprised that it was Serena who beat me and Sora to it, as you can probably tell she isn’t the most …open person in the place." Reiji heard the other boy say, making him look back from the scene unfolding. Was he talking to him?

His name was Dennis, he remembered, and he took his time to peer him up and down with some mild interest.

"So you're from Atlas Academy," he stated, not asked.

"Yup."

"From Atlas," he repeated, and Dennis blinked looking a little too much like an owl.

"Uhh yes, why?" he seemed a tad bit… worried.

Reiji eyed him from head to toe once more, from his disheveled red-orange hair, to his mildly _tanned_ skin and his clothes - an orange vest/jacket over a blue jacket – to his gloved hand – and only one hand.

"No reason," Reiji replied, adjusting his glasses and going back to his cleaning task.

 _'No good_ _,_ _'_ thought Dennis, trying to shrug off the chill of his stare _. 'It's better if I stay away from him.'_

∞

"Um, sorry, but can I ask you something?" Yuya heard as he felt someone tapping on his shoulder.

When he turned around, he saw that it was the other girl from before, the one who had been covered with cake. It was only now that he was closer to her that he saw she had little antlers in her green hair.

"Uh…" Yuya started, trying not to stare at her head. "Yeah sure!"

"Are you the son of-" she started, but was none-too-gently pushed to the side by the sweet tooth kid from before.

"The son of Yusho Sakaki?!" he exclaimed while he stood up on the tips of his feet in order to reach Yuya's face.

"Uh…" Yuya was unable to answer as his sight landed on the girl who had fallen on her back due to the push. She did not look happy.

"You are, right? I mean it's not like it's a secret or anything, and you kinda look like him. Either way I went to see one of his shows and it completely blew my mind away…" from behind the kid, Yuya watched how the Faunus girl raised and glared daggers at Sora, but he just kept talking.

"Ahem." The girl was now standing behind the kid.

"…And the live effects are so amazing." He, however, paid no mind or was willfully ignoring her. "Do you happen to know what his next show will be about? Because-"

"AHEM!"

The kid finally stopped talking and turned around to see the now fuming girl standing and looking ready to deck him. Yuya was torn between wisely walking away, and wanting to witness whatever was about to happen. Because something would; he could tell from the way the kid stared unabashedly at the top of her head. His demeanor changed into one more arrogant and the way the girl stood tall and with her hands on her hips and a frown all smelled like a storm was about to hit.

"Sorry, but if you wanna talk to him, you're gonna have to get in line-"

"Your name?" she asked in the most sweet and melodious voice Yuya had heard in a while. Her face changed from anger to a curious gaze as she leaned over the kid peering at him as one would to a small child.

"Sora. Shiunin Sora," he answered, raising an eyebrow. "And you are...?" he asked, still puzzled.

"Rin," she stated, flashing an even bigger smile and reaching out her hand to him. Yuya was almost sure there were little lights and colors surrounding the girl – Rin – but there was something awfully familiar about it too.

And when Sora shrugged and took the hand, he was pulled face to face with this Rin girl, her face never losing the smile but the light and sounds were now more like thunderous roars and chilling air.

"Well Sora, it is absolutely delightful to meet you," she started and her grip got tighter and tighter on Sora's hand.

"Eh, l-likewise," Sora responded, trying not so discreetly to pull away, to no avail.

"Exactly! Let us get all along well, and for that to happen, it's important to have _manners_ , Sora. Especially when you are a guest, and not talk over people or push them aside as you see fit, is that clear?" she finished, her smile turning almost predatory and Yuya felt actual chills running down his spine

"Y-yes, definitely. Actually, I have some errands to do. Feel free to talk his ear off," he stammered and fell to his butt when Rin harshly let his hand go.

"I'm glad! I look forward to more pleasant talks!" she said, waving her hand at him, and whatever Sora had to say, Yuya didn't catch it because he was already a little too far away on the other side of the hall.

"So now that the interruption is gone…" she said, walking towards him with a decisive look on her face.”… Is there any chance you can get me Miss Williams autograph?" she asked, eyes dashing with hope, flashing once more the sweet smile from before.

"Uh? I… yeah sure I can!" He was a little too afraid of saying anything else, even though it really wasn't a problem.

"YAY!!! See Yugo? I told you I could get it!" she said, giving a little jump and leaving Yuya with an agape mouth.

"Uh… that was weird," commented Hokuto, suddenly next to him, and it was obvious to Yuya now that he was just latching on to anyone to avoid doing any actual cleaning.

He knew the trick since he himself did it often enough.

"I guess, but maybe that's how they are on Mistral." All boisterous and dramatic, he thought. He remembered Crow chatted with them before so maybe he was from there too.

The same place as his father.

"Wha- nah I didn't mean that," Hokuto corrected. "I meant her… you know, antlers," he whispered, almost as if the word was forbidden or something and using his fingers to mimic horns on top of his hair.

"Not really? She's a Faunus, right?" True, back in Patch there weren't many Faunus, if any, but since arriving to Vale, Yuya had seen more than enough to stop being surprised by them.

"Yeah, but she's a girl right? I thought only male-" Yuya managed to pull Hokuto to the side and cover his mouth in the process.

"Mphth!"

"Believe me, it's for your own good," he said, looking to the sides, almost expecting the previous chill to run down his back. "Also, do yourself a favor and if you see her, shut your mouth; always."

∞

Glynda passed a finger over the table one more time, but there was nothing, no dust, no stickiness and no soap waste, she sighed and looked back at all of them once more, they all looked tired – except for Hokuto she thought frowning – and utterly uncomfortable in their possibly sticky uniform now.

Good, as far as she was concerned the punishment has met its purpose.

"This is satisfactory. You are all dismissed," she said, facing them all. "Please, next time you decided to make a… representation, there are plenty of non-edible props on the amphitheater to be used." She had to swallow a sigh at this, but orders were orders.

If only some of the kids weren't obviously trying to stifle back a laugh; it would be much easier.

"So… we can go clean ourselves now, right?" asked Yuzu, looking very uncomfortable with a big blue stain on her shirt and her hair sticking up a little on the sides.

"Of course, if anything, you should add washing your uniforms to the list. The welcoming ceremony will begin at 8 pm, and all of you should don your respective uniforms; spotless clean, of course."

"Understood!" "Do we have to?"

When Glynda glared at the group, she looked at the Faunus boy with a devil-may-care attitude not even trying to hide it was him, the other Faunus girl face-palming, and the kids from Atlas saluting and watching her intently as if waiting to be released.

They probably were expecting exactly that.

 _'This will be a long semester_ _._ _'_

∞

"Try not to decorate your uniform this time," Rin told Yugo when she saw he was heading for the laundry room.

"That was only once," he grumbled, but she noticed he was double-checking for more stray socks or grease-stained rags.

"It was thrice," she reminded him, pulling up the fingers and her tongue just to tease him a little.

"Two and a half. The last time it was only the pants." …And to make him admit his mistakes, that was good too.

"Yeah? Well if it wasn't for a certain _someone_ , I wouldn't have to wash anything at all… at least not until next week," he pointed out, practically kicking the door to the laundry room open.

"Putting aside the fact that you're willing to wear unwashed clothes for a whole week," she started. As he was now loading his clothes on the machine Rin let him grumble a little more before going on. "Can you imagine if we let anything happen to Yuya Sakaki?!" she asked, her fist swooping into the air, making her bracelet tingle.

"…Dunno what's so special about him," said Yugo looking to the side, finally finished in loading his clothes. It was just a matter of waiting now.

Looking at his pouty mouth, Rin pondered for a few seconds if she should remove the pin of jealousy with surgery-like precision or if she should just slap it out of him as usual.

"I mean…" she said, leaning next to him. “Can you imagine what would happen if anything happened to the son of Yusho Sakaki? I mean he already lost his wife, and took a year-long leave, what if he falls into depression and decides to retire from spectacles  _forever_? And what about Miss Williams huh? Do you want that hanging over our heads?!” A middle ground would do this time.

"..Guess not," he agreed, still a bit sour-faced.

"Atta boy, you know? Something tells me this is gonna take a long time. Why don't we take a much needed shower in the meantime-"

"You mean-" he said, practically jumping from his previous spot and looking a little too eager.

" _Separated showers_ , of course," she reminded him. After all, they just got here, and they didn't need to be expelled already.

Yugo, of course, deflated like a balloon or a kitty faced with an empty bowl of food, but still followed after her.

On the way there, Rin tried not to feel jealous of the fact that so far Beacon's accommodations were amazing, spacious and comfortable than in Haven. Then again, they were guests here. They weren't relegated to the less …comfy dorms because of their social status or general appearance. Once the water was up and running, she stepped under it and heard Yugo doing the same on the other side.

"So, what do you think? I thought his son would be more outgoing than that. He seemed kind of scared even, but he seems like a nice-" she started as soon as the temperature was nice enough.

"WHAT?!" … Of course, not everything worked on their side.

"I SAID WHAT DO YOU-"

"ANYWAY, DID YOU SEE THE FORGERY WE PASSED JUST ON THE WAY TO OUR DORMS? MAYBE WE CAN PASS BY ONE OF THESE DAYS TO SEE IF THEY HAVE…"

"Never mind," Rin said with a deadpan tone. Maybe having a conversation while showering wasn't the best idea.

"OH RIGHT! DID YOU HEAR WHAT MICKIE SAID EARLIER? ASUKA WILL BE HERE IN ABOUT A WEEK OR TWO."

"…Oh great," she sighed; this was exactly what she needed.

"WHAT?!"

∞

"Just because you're the highest scored team in the Academy, doesn't mean you are free to do as you wish…" the General repeated one more time to Dennis.

Technically, this should be something meant for all of them, but seeing as he was the leader, in Ironwood's eyes he was the sole responsible one.

"…If anything, it just means that I expect you to act with the utmost dignity considering on behalf of who you represent…"

There were times when he wondered what it was about him that made people think of him as dependable, down to earth and, most of all, trustworthy. Every time someone called him either of those things, or treated him as such, Dennis pitied them.

"…Ozpin may like his recruits running wild, but even if this is the Vytal Festival, you are still proud Atlesian soldiers…"

Both from having such low standards – were all people this naïve? – And for the eventual outcome.

_'Is that why you despise them?'_

"Yes."

"Macfield…" There was an edge to his voice that made Dennis pay full attention again.

"I-I mean yes, sir!" he said, saluting as he did, trying all too hard not to glare at the shadow mocking him behind the General.

"Have I made myself clear then?" he asked again.

"Of course," he added, feeling himself gulp down when the General fixed him with his eyes, then they tracked down to his left arm.

"Very well. You are dismissed," he said after a while and turned around to leave. Dennis allowed himself a minute to breathe…

"…And Macfield." … Which was sucked away almost immediately. The shadow now had a wide smile almost splitting its face in half, and by pure instinct, Dennis looked frantically for the nearest window or door.

"Sir?" he pressed, feeling his mouth dry.

"Rest. The flight from Atlas was a long and exhaustive one," he advised with a small smile before disappearing down the dark hallway.

He would have been more relieved had it not been splitting up on the floor, at the General, at him.

At all this ridiculous set up.

Only when the General's footsteps were no longer heard and it calmed down was when he opened the door to their dorm.

There sprawled on the floor with even more candies was Sora. On the other hand, Serena was already organizing her bed, and judging for her uniform neatly folded next to her and slightly wet hair, he guessed she was up and ready for the welcoming ceremony.

 _He_ on the other hand had yet to arrive.

"That was an …interesting approach, I'll give you that much," he said after Sora finally chose a chocolate and hid the stock under what he assumed was his bed.

"Look who's talking, Casanova," he grumbled as he produced yet another lollipop from somewhere in his bed.

"Ehem." He hoped his blush remained at the base of his neck. "I admit I may have gotten carried away myself, but at least I was on track with the mission, not trying to steal someone's dessert," he chided to the kid.

"…Tch, what about Serena? What in the world were you thinking back there?" he complained, and Dennis had to withhold a sigh. So typical of Sora to deflect the guilt onto someone else.

"We were instructed to blend in with our surroundings, I merely followed the example," she stated matter-of-factly from her spot on the floor.

"Speaking of instructions, we will have to reschedule our meetings to avoid any accidental snooping around," he said to them and saw them both tense, Dennis had to remind himself that they were first-timers, they didn’t knew just yet the art of handling stress and close-calls on daily basis.

But it was something lived, not thought.

Right on cue, there was a knock on the door and as the door opened, their fourth teammate entered with his luggage, and already wearing his pristine uniform.

"Long time no see guys," he saluted, with his ever present friendliness. "Am I interrupting?" he asked, sitting next to Serena who had yet to change from her casual clothes, and there on the lap of his shirt was the LDS pin.

"Not at all, Yuu. You're right on time," he said with a smile creeping up on him.

∞

When Gongenzaka finished cleaning himself, and was able to pick up his uniform from the laundry room – time in which he took the liberty to put someone's Haven's uniform in the dryer – the least he expected was to find their teammates prostrated in the hallway, while Masumi and Sawatari were apparently having a heated argument.

"I still don't understand why are you being so… so…arghhh!" With those words that resonated down the hallway was how Gongenzaka found Sawatari and Masumi arguing outside their respective dorms.

They seemed to have been at it for quite a while because Reiji, Yuzu, Yuya and the rest of MSST where looking really tired and wore faces that practically spelled 'I wish I was anywhere but here.'

Before Gongenzaka could intervene, even as he hurried, Masumi had stormed into her room and slammed the door right in Sawatari's face.

"What in the world happened here?" he asked them.

"Uh… I think it might have been my fault," said Yuzu with a small voice, looking downcast.

"Might be?" started Hokuto "Why couldn't you just shut your mouth about everything? We had just agreed to not ask anything until she decided to tell us and here she comes all like: 'Masumi, sorry about earlier but I couldn't help notice that you answered none of my messages for three months, are you alright?'" he mocked.

During the whole time, when Hokuto was getting in Yuzu's face, he felt like pushing him aside. When he got at it mimicking Yuzu's voice, Gongenzaka had to clench and unclench his fists in order not to intervene.

"And then this fool," he continued, now pointing at Sawatari who was still fuming at the closed door, "gets on with it and goes over to join in the questioning. So yeah, I think you might just have something to do with this mess!"

He really wanted to hit Hokuto's face, but one look at Yuzu's downcast eyes was telling him that this would only aggravate her more.

"Oi! At least Yuzu cares about it enough to ask!" intervened Yuya. "I mean, we were all the other side of the continent on an island, in case you forgot." He pointed out. "Not to mention that this guy over here was on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean," he added, pointing at Reiji behind him. "As far as I remember, aren't you all living in Vale, in downtown?"

Gongenzaka's mind came to a halt when he fully processed that Yuya included Reiji in them, even if it was for childish banter, even Reiji lifted his eyebrow at this.

"While I do not advocate for accusations for the sake of it, I'm intrigued by how exactly this situation flew below your notice," he joined after a moment of consideration.

"Well, when you put it like that of course it sounds a little-" started Yaiba.

"Pfft, please what do you mean? Unlike a certain someone…" said Hokuto giving him, Yuya and Yuzu a nasty look. "…We are not joined at the hip. We have our own homes and families to spend time with." he said not looking sorry in the slightest.

"So are you saying that Masumi could have spent the entire winter in Beacon, and you would not have noticed?" asked Reiji while adjusting his glasses.

"Uh?" Sawatari exclaimed after finally conceding that Masumi wouldn't open the door.

"I'm saying-"

"I'm ready," said Masumi's voice all of the sudden.

Gongenzaka wanted to believe that the door slapping Sawatari was pure accident on her side.

"Wha-" he attempted while trying to fight back a whimper.

"I mean," she started, "That I'm ready for the fancy ceremony and all that." She made a flick with her hair, and only now he noticed that she was donning her Beacon uniform.

"The cere- wha….Damn it! I need to shower, and do my hair among other stuff and I only have one hour!" Sawatari spoke in a fast tone, and then his whole body sharpened and looked like this was a life or death decision.

In his book, it probably was, he thought with a sigh. After he disappeared down the hallway Masumi followed suit, claiming that she wanted to save spots.

Gongenzaka almost missed the warning look she gave to Reiji; almost.

∞

"There you are guys!" a voice called to them, and Rin had to suppress a squirm at the squeaky voice. "Here! I saved you a good spot!!"

Did she always have to be so loud?

"Oi Mickie," said Yugo rushing to her as well. Rin had to remind herself that it was not a good idea to dampen his mood. "Uh? I don't think I've seen you wearing black before."

It really was a surprise. Rin half expected Mikiyo to pull her 'starlet' card again and wear some over the top bright outfit, with shiny decorations and a big hairdo, but there she was, looking as cheery in her modest Haven dark clothes. She tried not to groan at the fact that she actually looked good in it. She had even put her hair into a slightly – and only slightly – less extravagant braid, with less pins and clips too.

"There you are Rin-chan!" she yelled, her face practically illuminating with a smile. She hated it so much. "Here I thought you had abandoned me, your lovely teammate and partner, right?" she said, grabbing her by the arm, forcing her to stand side by side with her.

"Hey! Why are you leaving me out?!" Yugo looked so much like an abandoned kitten – no pun intended – with his pout and moving tail that Rin almost felt like being tickled all over.

"Sorry Yugo, I guess your partner has yet to arrive," she started with a raised eyebrow. "But no worries! You can stand here next to me!" she said, patting him on the head like an overgrown child.

Rin felt like she could throttle her on the spot.

∞

"Excuse me, can you tell me where the amphitheater is?" he asked to a random student passing by.

"Oh! Sure it's…" Yuto didn't miss the way his smile receded when he not so discretely looked at his ears, "…right pass the central garden, um, and the entrance should be right at the base of the base of the Shining Beacon Tower," he finished a little too quickly and scurried away.

"Thanks," he said to the space the student had occupied. "Are you gonna be fine?" he asked her. A little behind him, Ruri was still fidgeting in her spot.

"Yes, let's go," she answered, passing by him, making him hurry after her step, as it was usual these days. She spared him no words beyond a simple nod of gratefulness. He stopped when she did too, while she was looking, no, glaring at the Tower right at to the top, where the faint glow of the beacon rested.

"Ruri? Are you sure? Maybe you should wait with Shun in the dorm or…" Or maybe he should have dragged either of them down here, consequences and protests be damned. Anything to have Ruri feel better.

"No, don't bother him. I'm fine," she bit out.

Yuto wished for the umpteenth time that he could believe her.

∞

"Welcome back."

It was the standard welcoming, but Ozpin gave it with every bit of significance it carried, even if people didn't always notice it.

"I hope you had time to rest, refill your energies, and put your personal matters in order." He missed this; missed the energy that all of them brought here, and made this place alive. After all, the school was nothing but a building. It was them, his students, which made it Beacon Academy. "As all of you know, this semester will be very special and it fills me with joy to once again have the honor of upholding the valuable tradition that is the Vytal Festival,"

He allowed some clapping and cheering to be made before he spoke again. In the meanwhile, he allowed himself to admire the colorful crowd in the place, from the stark white uniforms of Atlas, to the formal black ones from Haven, and then there were the colorful crowd from Shade.

"It fills me with joy to receive here the proud and mighty school of Atlas Academy, proved extensively when they became champions of the last Tournament held in Mistral. The cold and unforgivable land of Mantle could not hold them back from coming, of course," he signaled to them on the far out right.

They all clapped in a contained manner and nodded to his compliments, and he knew that behind him, Ironwood was checking carefully on each one of them.

"From the eastern lands of Mistral, we are excited to receive the thunderous company of Haven Academy, whom previously played to be our esteemed hosts and delighted us with their beautiful lands, and dazzled us with their inventive and spectacular combat styles." He still remembered the opening ceremony, made with dancers and singers from all across the continent.

As expected, there was a deafening roar coming from the people who, despite dressing all in black, from the distance, he could tell many of them had personalized their clothes and appearance.

Even the fact that their …representative was bowing and smiling a self-indulgent expression could not diminish the appreciation.

"And, to our dearest neighbors from the western lands of Vacuo, whose resilience, loyalty and hard work inspires us all…" He made a pause to look at them, then at Ironwood and Jean-Michel Roget, neither of them looking at the mismatched crowd and withheld a sigh. "… You have my greatest condolences for the loss of the Heartland citizens, an event we must never forget it happened and to whom it happened. I salute you with the utmost respect and admiration," he finished.

None of the Shade students clapped or cheered. Instead, they all held their hands to their chest and closed their eyes in remembrance. Ozpin saw the rest of the students keep quiet as well and some of them were even doing the same gesture.

"I give you all the most warming welcoming to Beacon, and to give you the proper welcoming to Vale. We will transmit the live feed the welcoming ceremony that will be celebrated downtown as we speak." He turned just in time to see Glynda turning the monitors on where the cheery face of a brunette girl in her twenties and dressed as a cowboy stood next to Lisa Lavender.

∞

"-ceremony for the arrival of the Remnant population visiting Vale held in the Velaris Hall, as most of you shouldn't forget this year the festival was delayed in a show of respect for the disappearance of the Heartland's population, Melissa," she spoke to the camera, always as composed and proper as ever.

Melissa wasn't fond of it, but she had to play by the house rules while in Vale, especially to a news report legend like Lisa Lavender.

"Thank you, Lisa. Of course it is a serious matter that no one should allow it to be swept under the rug. It is expected that the progress of the investigations will be made public by the Council any time this week, along with the proposed security measures," she contributed, reciting from memory the script for this event. "However, it shouldn't stop us either from upholding the proper etiquette of receiving our foreign friends!" She immediately changed her tune and body language in order to let the camera pan to the stage where a sole mic and piano rested in the center of it, waiting for the performers.

Right on time, the lights in the hall were lowered to let two reflector lights move around the stage, drums sounding in the background. She counted the seconds:

 _'10, 9, 8, 7, 6…'_ Both she and Lisa were back to back now and ready to say their line.

"Hosted by the peerless entertainer: Yusho Sakaki!!"

From the bottom of the still waiting stage, there was a booming voice:

***LAAAADIIES AND GENTLEMEEEEN!!!!***

The stage was filled with colorful lights and smoke:

***THE FUN IS JUST GETTING STARTED!***

Just as Yusho's signature catchphrase was voicered, she got ready for the fireworks and then she would continue

Except... everything was rumbling, way too much for a fireworks spectacle, she started to loose her footing and the last thing Melissa saw before everything went white and red and filled with scorching heat was a group of masked figures running in the shadows.

.

.

.

∞

Everyone in the amphitheater was too shocked to move or speak as the screen was filled with images of fire, ashes, running people, and a collapsing building. The footage was then interrupted by an emergency signal announcement.

For a couple seconds nothing, not even the sound of a pin drop could be heard.

Then some sobbing, crying and yelling started to make its way from the students, all while Gongenzaka's mind was trying to organize his thoughts. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Reiji frozen in spot, his expression unreadable, Yuzu with tears rolling down her face, and Yuya…

…He was just standing there with a haunted look on his face. He didn't know what to do, what to say, or even what to think. He was powerless.

 _"Ironwood! Take the students back to their dorms_ _._ _Glynda_ _,_ _walk with me_ _._ _I want the Council on the comms now…"_

Before any of those orders could be acted on, the screen made an ugly buzzing sound and the Vale logo was replaced by a group of silhouettes in black and white uniforms.

All of them wore White Fang masks. Everyone started to murmur in the place and Gongenzaka's mind slipped back to the night in the club they should have never let _them_ go.

The one at the center looked directly at the camera and started talking in a distorted voice:

***I… WILL BE BRIEF . YOU KNOW WHO WE ARE . YOU KNOW WHAT WE ARE . WHAT YOU MIGHT BE ASKING RIGHT NOW WHILE WATCHING THE NEWS IS: WHY? ***

***MAKE NO MISTAKE, THIS IS NOT A TRAGEDY . _THIS_ IS NOT AN ACCIDENT . THIS IS A MESSAGE . * **

***A MESSAGE DIRECTED TO THE RULING COUNCIL, WHO BY THIS MOMENT HAVE NO DOUBT FABRICATED A FLIMSY EXPLANATION OVER THIS… EXPLOSIVE EVENT.***

***TO THE CITIZENS OF REMNANT, FOR YOU THIS MEANS ONE SIMPLE THING: YOUR GOVERNMENT HAS FAILED YOU, JUST AS MUCH AS IT HAS FAILED THEIR FAUNUS POPULATION OVER AND OVER . NOW YOU ARE JUST HAVING A TASTE OF IT . ***

***KNOW THAT FOR AS FOR AS LONG AS THE COUNCIL FAILS TO MEET OUR REQUESTS, HIDES INFORMATION, CONTINUES TO FAIL TO PROTECT ALL THE POPULATION, THERE WILL BE MORE MESSAGES . NOT TODAY. NOT TOMORROW , BUT SOON . ***

***THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING . YOU STILL HAVE TIME . CHOOSE YOUR SIDE AND CHOOSE WISELY . ***

**.**

**.**

**.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...And then I went to the writer's help for playing with your emotions like this.  
>  Ok people, this chapter was quite a doozie, the changes in POV around it are so you can start identifying the different 'voices' from each character... it may come in handy at some point ;P
> 
> Other than that there isn't much to say about this chapter, except that as usual don't rush to conclusions.


	4. Damage Control

Chaos had ensued in the following hours after the White Fang attack.

There were priorities they had all agreed. First, they all escorted the students to their respective dorms, after making sure all of them were secure on the school grounds. It had been idea of the Mistral Representative – Roget – to declare a temporary curfew until further notice.

Ozpin had been initially against it, but Ironwood pressed him to accept when he brought up the students' safety.

Second, they were to station some soldiers on the cable carts and any of the exits to avoid any scurrying away in between the students. It had been less than an hour before they had landed their first offender, and then the next one after a mere half an hour.

Which led to the third priority: Communicate with each and every one of the family members of the students who were near the former Hall at the time of the attack, both for security and possible witnesses.

Needless to say, it had been a long night.

None of them had slept, and wouldn't have been able to do so anyway. It was morning again, and Ironwood would very much appreciate a drink, but he would not drink while on the clock.

He wished he could enjoy the coffee with the same gusto Ozpin did. Speaking of which…

"Ozpin, what is the status of the situation?" he asked the man, after watching for a while how he went back and forth with some Council Representatives, Vale Police, and the Head of Vale's General Hospital.

"According to Glynda, the Vale Police say they found empty Dust containers and remains where the fireworks should have been, it was the most likely cause of the explosions," he explained, rubbing his temple. "As for the injured, Shuzo is-"

_"Let go_ _of_ _me!!"_

_"No_ _t_ _until you calm down!"_

_"Yuya_ _, p_ _lease_ _!_ _I'm sure that they will tell us if something bad-"_

Before any more discussion was heard, there was some fumbling around along with some grumbling and yelling, and then some banging on the elevator door. Ironwood saw Ozpin looking up to the door. Undoubtedly he recognized the voices because his eyes widened considerably.

_"At least try to press the button first_ _,_ _"_  recommended a much quieter voice.

***ACCESS REQUESTED***

"Ozpin, we have no time to deal with-" he attempted through gritted teeth, but the man had already accepted the request and before he could finish the sentence there in front of the desk was the young boy whom he had seen just yesterday in the 'recreation' of the Dining Hall; the very same one who had been caught numerous times trying to breach the curfew last night.

"Where's is my Dad?" he asked, not bothering to salute or even greet his superiors. Behind him, another two tall boys and a girl – the Hiragi girl he noticed – walked to the desk and stood just a little behind him.

"I'm sorry, Headmaster. We tried to hold him off but…" started the broad boy, but Ozpin held his hand up to silence the boy.

"It is not a bother, Mr. Gongenzaka-" he started but the other boy – whom now Ironwood thought familiar for different reasons – slapped his hands on Ozpin's desk, gripping it tightly.

"I asked: _Where is my Dad_?" he punctuated. His face was downcast and the words were accompanied by a slight growl.

Ironwood told himself that the chill running down his back was the product of a cold breeze - even if the windows were closed - Then he saw the taller boy of the group step forward, and Ironwood would recognize him anywhere now: Reiji Akaba.

He was the team leader; he remembered this from Beacon's team files. Of course Ozpin would have made him a team leader. It was in is veins, after all. He sensed it from the moment he saw his demonstration the past year.

"With due respect Headmaster, General," he started, giving a slight bow to the two men and then taking his time to adjust his glasses. "While I don't necessarily approve of his attempts to get in trouble, I …understand where his worry comes from. After all, we all saw and recognized the voices in the live feed," he finished.

"Yes, Yuya has the right to know if Mr. Sakaki is fine," spoke up the girl next to him too. "Headmaster, you can't deny him that, to all of us," she said to Ozpin.

Sakaki; Yuya Sakaki. So he was Yoko and Yusho's son. It all made sense now, including Ozpin's consideration for the boy, who as of now seemed to have calmed down a little after his team's support.

"Of course I wouldn't do that, Miss. You can be rest assured that the first thing we did was check the status of the people inside the Hall. Your father is alive and without any grave injuries, Mr. Sakaki," conceded Ozpin.

"Then can I go see him?" he asked, eyes lighting up with such eagerness that James almost wanted to tell him yes.

"If you allow me, as much of a fair point made by the two of you, both eloquent and inspiring, considering that it managed to move Headmaster Ozpin," a voice started from the windows on the far left, startling all the students, who seemed to have missed his presence. "I should have expected nothing less of hunters-to-be, especially from the _heir_ of the Leo Corps, after all."

Roget stepped from the sight of the mountains and the forests he had been admiring, wearing that self-serving smile of his. If it was up to James, he would have banned him from the office until further notice; these were official confidential matters, after all. It both marveled him and disappointed him that Ozpin tolerated his presence in matters outside his field of concern.

The students, on the other hand, didn't seem to recognize the man, but one didn't need to be familiar with Jean-Michel Roget in order to dislike him, as it was made apparent by their frowns.

"As for you, Mr. Sakaki, while I can understand your plight given you err… family history." He faked a cough at this, but Ironwood didn't miss the boy's grimace at the words. "And of course you and your father definitely have my best wishes," he started while walking around Ozpin's desk to face the kids. "However, you can't expect us to make special allowances like this. _Y_ _ou_ are not the only victim, especially now when the entire city of Vale has been marked as a target of a terrorist group," he finished stepping closer to the boy with each sentence.

"The White Fang are _not_ terrorists," stated Reiji, putting himself between the man and his team. To say Ironwood was surprised would be an understatement, however he thought that the faint snort Roget gave was hardly necessary, not to mention unprofessional.

Ozpin didn't look happy either, but as usual he seemed to be weighing the options at hand, switching his sight in between the kids and Roget.

"I apologize, Mr. Akaba, but were we not witnesses to the same events? Did we not see those _animals_ attacking a mere ceremony? With civilians? Whatever they may have stood for in the past, doesn't change the fact that today they attacked _innocent_   ** _human_** lives. I would have thought that _you_ on behalf of your family understood that better than anyone in this room," he finished.

Ozpin had his eyes closed and his lips pursed in obvious discontent, barely containing his temper most likely for the kid's presence. The kids, in turn, looked like someone had thrown a bucket of ice cold water at them or wanted to throttle Roget through the window; or both.

"Reiji owes no explanations for his stand to you, Representative," spoke the corpulent boy for the first time since his rushed apology. “What he may or may not understand from his family conflicts is _none_ of your business and is a far cry from what we saw today. Things are never that simple," he said with a huff.

Whether it pissed Roget to be defied or he was just displeased that he couldn't look down to this particular boy was unknown, but his whole demeanor changed in one single shift of expression. He looked now every bit the sneaky bastard everyone said he was.

"Of course they aren't. I shouldn't have expected a bunch of _students_ who have never been out there in the real world to understand such complicated matters either, and heir or not, Mr. Akaba is not allowed to have a 'special' position in this whole situation either," he bit out.

If Ironwood had not been completely sure of his displeasure for the man, then he was now. Before he could say anything, however, he saw the girl step not just side to side her teammates, but quite literally getting in the man's face.

"That's rich coming from a Mistral's Representative. A city where everyone knows the rift between social classes is wider than in any other kingdom," criticized the girl, Yuzu, if memory didn't fail him. "Where the organized crime has many government officials on their pockets. Where orphans aren't allowed to have family names and a bill that advocated for Faunus registration barely avoided being declared a law," she added for good measure, and he could see how complicated matters or not, she was Shuzo's daughter through and through.

"That's right, and if memory doesn't fail me, " started the corpulent boy, more in thought than anything else, then his face shifting on recognition adding: “I seem remember that you Representative _Roget_ were among the strongest supporters for it”

_'It seem_ _s_ _someone has been doing their research_ _,_ _'_ he thought as he saw Ozpin trying to hide his content smile behind his entwined hands. Which didn't last long when it looked like Roget was one moment away from striking one the kids.

"As enlightening as this has been for everyone," Ozpin put in diplomatically, getting attention back on him. "Mr. Sakaki I apologize but as per orders of the Council, students are to remain inside school grounds until further notice," he explained.

The boy looked like he wanted to protest, but a hand placed on his shoulder stopped him. Ironwood raised his eyebrow at the word 'later' mouthed by no less than Reiji Akaba.

"As for you, Representative Roget, I am forced to ask you to remove your person from my office. You too shall be confined to the school grounds along with the Haven students," continued Ozpin, swiveling his chair to the man with that apologetic-sounding voice which Ironwood knew was anything but. "Security measures. I'm sure you understand."

As expected, the man didn't look happy at all, he gave a faint sneer and a purposefully shallow bow to them and turned around to leave without excusing himself.

"..Um we'll be leaving too. We apologize for the inconvenience," said the buff student, bowing and forcing the Sakaki boy to bow as well earning an ‘eek’ from him.

"I should be the one to apologize, Mr. Gongenzaka, since we are talking about conceding points. The people in the video did make an important one: we have failed as a government and as institution. If we didn't, then things like this wouldn't happen at all," he answered to them.

Ironwood found himself sighing at the sight of the students frowning.

"We are not allowed to disclose public details, but I'll have you know that-" Even Ironwood had to concede every once in a while, he thought as he struggled with the words. "-While injuries were unavoidable, none of them were critical, let alone deathly. All the people in the Hall have been accounted for, thus there were no casualties," he said.

"But… the explosion was huge," said the Sakaki boy, frowning again this time in puzzlement. "The Hall was left in shambles," he added after a moment.

"Exactly. Even if by some coincidence or miracle all the occupants would have all been trained in Aura Control, we were bound to have some casualties," he finished.

Let them make of that what they wanted, maybe they could make a better sense of it than the VPD, the Council or himself.

"Understood, we will be leaving now," said Reiji Akaba after a while and made a gesture for everyone to follow him. It was only when he heard the blink of the elevator that he turned to face Ozpin.

"I have to say _James_ that was almost kind of you." …who at the moment was practically smirking at him, amusement oozing from him.

"As long as it will keep them off prying around dangerous situations," he said trying not to sound too pleased, but it was also about pragmatism. If Ozpin was going to let people run around as usual, then he would be the one having to keep an eye on them.

∞

"We should go to the city," he said as soon as they stepped out into the gardens. Yuzu turned her head so fast that she winced and needed a moment to both adjust her sight and to rub her sore neck. It was typical of Yuya to say such things after promising the exact opposite as soon as the nearest authority figure was out of earshot.

Except that this time it had come out of Reiji.

"…Why?" she asked, looking around in slight panic, but there was no need. It was still pretty early and the gardens were deserted.

"Does it matter? I'm in," said Yuya immediately, but she didn't blame him. If her Dad was in the same situation she would do the same.

"Wait a minute, did last time teach you nothing? Did we not hear what we were told? The only reason a curfew like this is put in place is if the city is in state alert above yellow!" snapped Gongenzaka to both of them.

If possible, the silence in the garden deepened to such an extent that it could have swallowed them all, and Yuzu only heard an ugly buzz from the heavy tension settled in between them.

"We did, but I believe these are extraordinary circumstances," Reiji said after some mussing. He was looking at her now, looking for…

Support? Reassurance? Yuzu hated to admit – both to him and herself – that she couldn't give him any of that right now. She promised to her Dad, after all.

"Sorry Reiji, but Gongenzaka has a point. As of now, everything is an 'extraordinary' circumstance," she started. "And… I thought… I thought we had agreed to never run into danger like this again," she said, almost biting her tongue in the effort of not betraying her feelings in the matter.

Reiji's expression morphed in what might have been pursed lips and looked expectantly at Yuya to chime in as well.

"I want to go, I really do, and I _need_ to know…" His fists balled for a second and he exchanged looks with her before answering,"...but if Yuzu and Gongenzaka are agreeing on something being a bad idea… then maybe it really is for the best not to do it," he finished, his shoulders falling considerably.

"I will not force you." Of course he wouldn't, she thought. What worried her was what he would be up to _alone_. "Nor is it wise to go without support of backup of any kind," he said and Yuzu allowed herself to sigh in relief.

That's right. Without his team's support, Reiji was quite simply out of choices and he loathed himself for the train of thought that assaulted him in response to this.

"Good then-" started Gongenzaka, but he couldn't allow him to steer the subject away, not yet.

"Do you trust me?" he asked, trying to ignore what felt like a rock stuck in his throat.

"…"

"…"

"…Why do you ask?" asked Yuzu, avoiding his gaze and he forced himself to breathe through his nose before answering.

"You all said once that I… that  _we_  could count on each other. Is that statement still effective?" They all looked between each other and he added, "Right now I… need you to trust me. Can I count on that?"

Looking at their expressions, it was enough for Reiji to recoil for putting them in this position.

"I will not fault you if you decide I'm still not reliable," he added. Yes, that was the appropriate thing to say. Trust was earned, not taken for granted or forced and he had already failed not once but twice.

He balled his own fists to stop them from shaking.

"This is something you can't tell us about, right?" asked Yuya, finally deigning to meet his eyes and he saw recognition pass through his red eyes. Reiji somehow knew that Yuya understood – if only for now – his position.

Of course he does. He has his own burdens as well, he thought as he just nodded.

"What exactly would you have us do?" asked Gongenzaka at last.

"For the most part, it would be following crumbs," he admitted. "While I was at Atlas, I took a few… liberties by scouring all the data from the LDS schools and I found something, a pattern that I need to confirm," he explained.

"Is this about the White Fang or Heartland?"  _'Or_ _both'_ Yuzu probably meant to ask all of the sudden. She was still not looking at him, but the fact that she was willing to listen again was relieving enough.

"Best case scenario: none; it's all circumstantial. We go and come back empty-handed…" _'And with a_ _clear conscience,_ _'_ he almost said out loud. "…and let the matter go. We leave it to the pertinent authorities to handle properly," he found himself saying.

"And worse?" she questioned, finally looking at him again.

"We may end up involved in the scandal for the covering of the worst atrocity in the history of Remnant."

∞

When he finally reached his personal quarters – which, while spacious had absolutely nothing noteworthy about them – Roget slammed the door.

The nerve of those brats! Of the General and even from that damned Headmaster. Who the hell did they think they were to talk down on him like that? Him!! The one who had managed to scrape from the bottom of the ranks to being only a step down from being in the Ruling Council.

And in time, he would be not their equal, but their superior.

The thought went great ways to calm him down and even brought a smile to his face. In no time he would have no need to answer to anyone but his own person. Not to the General, not to any of the Headmasters, the Council or…

There was a soft tap on window, and he looked to see a cloaked figure perched outside of it. He just made a sign for them: it's open.

"It's everything going according to the schedule?" he asked to the cloaked figure once they settled in his room, partially hidden by the curtains.

"It has," they answered with a hiss and shifted slightly, pulling a flash drive from under the heavy clothes. "Here are the blueprints of Beacon's grounds, a layout of the security system and the team's profiles you requested-"

"And in perfect time. I have a feeling that we may have to deal with some annoyances before moving forward the pieces on the board," he said, taking the device. It was black and golden. "What have you found out about the General?"

"Nothing worth mentioning." Ah, meaning they had no freedom of discussing it with him. "His presence in Vale was unexpected, along with the Atlesian floats, but they may even help us speed up the process," they answered.

"And the girl?" he pressed.

"The girl seems to have no suspicions of her part on the matters. However, it is advised that we remain vigilant for any misshape," they said again.

"When will the harvest take place?" he asked, testing his luck, but there was no immediate answer to it, as he expected. Instead, he was regarded heavily by his 'guest.'

"That information is above my clearance." The figure moved uncomfortably as they said this.

_'Liar_ _,_ _'_ he thought, biting his tongue to swallow a retort, but he contained it. So _the_ Professor didn't trust him; that was nothing new. If anything, he would have been disappointed if he did, but if he could win this particular pawn over to his side, then the tides may turn in his favor.

A messenger was not something to underestimate nor in his case to let them slip below notice.

"What do you know about the Heartland Disappearance?" he tried.

The figure shifted uneasily on their spot. Whether they had an answer or not they were still curious.

_'Like catching fish in a barrel_ _,_ _'_ he thought, feeling the grin on his face widen.

∞

Today was not a normal day. Sawatari could tell that much.

Even before the Beacon's newsletter confirmed what he and Masumi had already guessed, he already had a clue. There would be a mandatory curfew. He was transported back to the day the Heartland incident had been announced.

Hushed comments popped up, underhanded remarks about Faunus, pointed fingers at every entity of power. It would last a couple days - a week tops - and then people would get tired and move on with their lives.

Sawatari was used to this. The first few casualties of any tragedy would make it to the news. You would go to funerals for people whose names you struggle to remember, and then the next time you barely bothered to check the obituaries anymore.

When one thought about it, it was nothing short of remarkable how everyone could act like it was the worst possible thing to happen one day, and the next day, everything would go back to normal.

"You are delusional," Hokuto told him, and the others just nodded their agreement.

"What it's true!" he yelled at them. "Why would I lie about something like this?"

"I could list at least a dozen of reasons right now," Masumi spoke up.

Fine… he deserved that, but he seriously needed to convince them.

"Ugh, fine! What would it take for me to prove it?" he asked them.

"Oh! I don't know. How about when we find him in the hallways, you go and shake hands with him like the good friends you supposedly are," said Yaiba.

"I didn't say I was his friend, I said he's Pap- my Dad's associate," he said, grumbling.

"When it comes to the great and marvelous Sawatari family, is there really a difference?" asked Masumi in between giggles.

"Well _you_ are my friends," he admitted in a low voice, and that seemed to do the trick. They all stopped their teasing and looked like they were sorry.

"Fine, fine, teasing aside I think if we can agree that you can't possibly take seriously to  _all_  of your Dad's business associates," he said, using flying commas for emphasis. "Especially those who fill your head with praise because-"

"Because they all want to stay on my Dad's good side," he answered. "You think I don't know that?"

Of course he did. He had already forgotten when he first realized he was just another way to gain his father's favor, but if people were going to use him as a political tool… then what was so wrong about him doing the same?

Especially for someone like Jean-Michel Roget.

_Seeing Mistral for the first time had been such a delight._

_He had often heard wonders about the metropolis that brought even Atlas to shame_ _. B_ _ack then_ _,_ _he had shrugged off the remarks_ _. E_ _veryone always told that their city or kingdom was the best of the best, that you had to be there to understand but – and this was something his parents had taught him early on – if their homes were so great_ _,_ _they wouldn't have to convince you of it_ _;_ _they would only need to show it to you._

_Reality rarely lives up to the hype._

_After all_ _,_ _it wasn't like they had technology like_ _this_ _in Atlas, and he_ _had known_ _for a fact that Vale had better infrastructure_ _s_ _and organized government_ _. T_ _he only thing Mistral was famous for was entertainment business and crime organizations, but when he first caught sight of the luminaries shining bright into the night sky, the beautiful buildings and carvings of the – admittedly impractical designs – huge skyscrapers, the halls_ _,_ _the theaters_ _,_ _the promotion_ _s_ _of celebrities he had only heard on the radio or read about in the magazines, and the beautiful and lush gardens._

_Everything stole his breath away, and that was before he caught sight of the floating platforms – no more_ _like_ _buildings – adorning the sky like spaceships or satellites._

_"You like those? I've heard that these hold the headquarters_ _that_ _commands the_ _whole city!"_

_"You mean…_ _?_ _" he_ _had_ _asked, his eyes probably looking like giant saucers._

_"Yep, our host lives right up there in the sky_ _,_ _" Papa_ _had_ _said._

_Sawatari felt heady with wonderment, imagine the power, the respect held in such position! He wanted it all._

"Oi! Are you even there?!" He came back to the world with Masumi's face looking at him as if he had lost it.

"…Uh, sorry I was just, um… thinking?" he tried.

"Fine, let's for a minute pretend that this time your so called 'connections' aren't completely exaggerated. How exactly does that translate in an opportunity for us?" asked Hokuto, rubbing his eyes.

"To be honest, I was sort of expecting you to tell me that," he admitted, twiddling with his fingers in an attempt to soften the blow.

If their sweat drops were any indication, it didn't work.

"Masumi," called a voice at the end of the hallway. It was Reiji, looking slightly more sneaky than usual, which piqued his interest. "We need to talk."

"About…?" she asked, looking a little peeved for some reason.

"Not here, but can you tell me if the name 'Marco' rings a bell to you?"

∞

When he finally found a decent signal to log into the Vale News stream, Roman almost missed it by not recognizing the face speaking.

_"…On this following the, um, incident in the former Velaris Hall, the Council has sent an official announcement to the Vale City_ _,_ _which we will read to the audience now."_

The poor girl on the screen looked like she could faint from nervousness as she flipped through the papers she was given looking for the right one. Her bottle glasses, plain face, uneven haircut and cheap-looking clothes seemed far more fitting for a camera girl or a reporter assistant.

Roman snickered at the thought – and at the girl - obviously the Vale Station had never even considered that Lisa would need to be replaced any time soon.

_"Oh_ _,_ _here it is!_

**_"To the Citizens of Vale:_ **

**_"All of you must have your heads filled with questions and doubts on our current fight against chaos and monstrous, uncivilized behavior._ **

**_"But we must not falter_ ** **_. W_ ** **_e may be divided as kingdoms_ ** **_,_ ** **_but as Remnant_ ** **_,_ ** **_we have stood together for eight decades now, and we will not be deterred now."_ **

Roman almost cracked up to the – interim? – reporter looking at the piece of paper as if she was waiting for the punchline or something, and turning it over to see if there was anything else to the 'message.'

_"Um, I g-suppose that was all_ _for_ _the message_ _. W_ _e should um probably- I mean most definitely take at heart this …heartfelt words and…_ _"_

Really, those old coots were digging their own graves.

He turned the stream off and pulled the cigar from his pocket. After all, this deserved a little celebration. Everything was going according to the plan without any nosey people, cops or snooty brats on their tail, in no time everything would come together and…

Someone knocked at the door.

_'Ugh, so much for a little break_ _,_ _'_ he thought and just murmured for them to come in. Of course the White Fang recruit heard him and entered as expected. He could barely mutter things under his breath whenever one of these animals was around.

"Report," Roman ordered to the guard standing upright in front of him.

"We have finished the scouting of the immediate areas surrounding the Velaris Hall-" he spoke after saluting.

" _Former_  Velaris Hall," he corrected.

"…Right, and we found nothing out of order. The police are following the Dust trails just as expected and we have secured and destroyed the actual evidence."

"Excellent Perry, you are dismissed," he said, but before the Faunus could begin to move, a thought sprouted in his mind. "Well, you can leave, after you tell me one thing."

"…Sir?" he asked, remaining in place, but he did tilt his head to the side, as if he was a dog or a puppy; typical.

"What is the main conflict between truths and lies?" he asked, walking slowly towards him and finally giving a puff to his cigar. He wondered if he ever had the pleasure of tasting one of these babies.

"…I'm not sure what-" he attempted, his nose scrunching clearly not fond of the smell.

"Easy: accountability," Roman interrupted him. He never expected him to answer either way and laughed at the puzzlement that he showed. He exhaled the smoke in the Faunus' face, and he had to admire when he didn't cough or even flinch. He turned his back on him and just barked, "Are you waiting for a consolation prize or something? Leave!"

He only heard the fumbling of steps and the door close before his scroll beeped with a message labeled as 'Nosey Roger.'

It was time to get to work.

∞

"I'm not going," he said with a finalizing tone, crossing his arms for emphasis.

"What are you talking about? We have to go!" Yaiba yelled from his place at the windowsill, looking as if he wanted to jump at him and slap some sense into him.

By punches or kicks, it was usually up to how pissed off he was.

"We don't _have_ to do anything," he stated matter of factly. "Or at least I don’t. That is just something you decided in my place."

"You-" Whatever his partner was about to say was stopped when Masumi put a hand on his shoulder, shaking her head.

"If he doesn't want to go, then I won't force him, and neither will you," she informed him, and Hokuto felt relieved.

"…Can you at least tell us why?" Sawatari asked, looking weirdly gloomy.

"Because this stuff about the Faunus and the Disappearance and ALL of this…stuff it's just…ugh." There really wasn't an easy way to say this so he decided to just wing it. "Because I don't care, okay?" There, he said it. Why would they put themselves in the line of danger over a bunch of people they didn't know? "We were lucky last time to be able to walk away mostly unscathed. I seriously doubt we will be that fortunate this time. If we dive in into this then… that's it, there is no way out, and I don't think I want to be there when it will undoubtedly explode right in our faces."

He waited for them to start glaring at him, to shout at him even but they only frowned – more to themselves than to him – as if the possibility never occurred to them. He wasn't sure if this was worse than their indignation.

Reiji released a long sigh, which coming from him felt like an admonishment.

"Fair enough. In that case, you would do us a great service to leave this dorm… at least until we finish the planning stage," he said, adjusting his glasses.

"Hmph fine by me," he snorted, making his way to the door. "I hope you enjoy jail time." He said sparing them one last look and trying to sound nonchalant but it was probably ruined by the slight slam of the door.

Hokuto couldn't understand anything of what was happening, and if he was honest with himself, he would rather it remain that way.

It was preferable than to pry around and discover what lied underneath.

∞

It was too quiet, way too quiet.

Which, in any other circumstance, it would be far from being a problem. He didn't like noise, especially not unnecessary loud noises, but this time the racket had been replaced by something not just more annoying, but also far more dangerous.

_Stares_ , either mocking or scornful or just plain curious.

Wherever he passed, he could feel the stares that people gave him – sometimes accompanied by low murmurs and even giggling. No matter how much they tried to be subtle about it, he could always notice them, as if anything could have ever escaped his sight.

Other than a skilled fighter, that is, and he almost wanted to snort at the thought. He didn't get why they – he especially - had to waste time in this so-called renowned 'Academy.' He had nothing he needed or wanted to learn from these… humans.

Their issues, either about their so-called safe heavens, incapability of their government and police or their clashes with the White Fang were all inconsequential to him.

If any of this was up to him, he would have been happy with staying in his assigned dorm for the rest of their stay, only coming out for the very much needed food, fresh air and of course the showers and general hygiene.

But as it was, it was this or…

"Would it kill you to watch where you're going?!" It was the first thing he heard as soon as he stepped into the hallway. People would be surprised by how many times a day he got to hear it – or any variation of thereof – no matter how much Yuto mocked him for it.

He just walked around whoever it was this time.

"Oi! I'm talking to you!" Shun withheld a sigh as he turned to the speaker. "Some manners you have!" It was a lanky-looking boy with lavender hair whom, judging by the white uniform, was from Atlas and he was looking at him with what he guessed was a frown, but in that baby-looking face it looked more like a pout.

"…Maybe you should try to watch your step," he replied simply, finally spotting a smaller figure next to the boy. It was a blonde girl from Haven, with unusually large eyes that made the half-forgotten corners of his mind realize that she would immediately strike anyone as attractive.

She was now clutching tightly at the boys' arm, him in response looking a bit bashful; typical.

"Yuu-kuuun! Let's just go, okay?" she whined to the boy. "Let him be or else we'll miss lunch." Whatever wishes the guy had to argue with him seemed to fly away as he let himself be coddled by her.

Which worked perfectly for him, so he just ignored them further as they strolled away.

"That went better than I expected," a voice commented from the corner of his eye.

"Shut up and take your food," he spat out, throwing the containers at him, which he caught with ease.

"Did you…?" he was about to ask, but he stopped him midway:

"Yeah, I did." Of course he did notice. The mere suggestion that he might miss such an obvious thing offended him.

"Should we..?" he started and Shun didn't want to hear any more of it. He was tired of all of it.

"…I won't stop you, but don't drag me down with your chivalrous quest," he spat out. He had to see if he could get Kaito to eat something. He had made a promise to Ruri.

That was all it mattered.

∞

Masumi was staring hard at Reiji after he finished explaining his plan. It was well-thought, it accounted for all types of disadvantages and the groups he formed complement each of their strengths while covering for their respective weaknesses.

Really, she would have been envious of him if the plan was not as, well, absolutely dangerous.

"Give one reason as to why my team and I shouldn't back out from this…mission of yours," she spoke to him. "I mean… neither of us will blame you or tell on you, but unless you have one …" She was going to have to agree with Hokuto on this one thing.

Reiji stared at her and seemed like he was having a hard time coming with the right words to answer her.

"Do reasons really matter this time?" asked Gongenzaka out of nowhere instead. Masumi assumed it was a rhetorical question since he was obviously trying to get to something with this. "Masumi, I'm …tired of pretending that night didn't happen. I'm tired of trying to make a full picture out of it, one that actually makes sense, but it's futile because we know _nothing_. What I see here is that Reiji has the key to some answers and I'm sure as heck will be getting them, or else… I fear I will never get a night of full sleep again," he finished.

Now that struck a chord and unlike Reiji, she knew Gongenzaka had no ulterior motives nor was trying to coax her in any way.

And she needed answers too, but she wasn't going to force her team into anything.

"What do you think?" she asked to the boys.

"I'm going," said Yaiba. "I mean… with Hokuto kinda ditching, I feel a bit responsible. And I know I joked about not standing by my grandparents anymore, but I think I was actually restless." He looked at Gongenzaka now. "I'm also done being idle."

"I need to be there too," spoke Sawatari now. "I've known for a while that I'm constantly trying to bite more than I can chew, but I need to prove to people that I won't just ditch out …like everything else I've attempted in life." Masumi had to admire the great effort it took him to say the last bit. "Besides, if you're gonna throw yourselves into possible jail time, who's a better partner than the influential son of a soon-to-be Council Member?" …He was going so well, she thought as she watched him flip his hair to the side as if he was some kind of heaven's gift to them all.

But she also couldn't help the smile that crept up her face.

"Thank you guys, I mean it." She turned to Reiji now. "When are we leaving?"

"Tonight, while the trail is still warm," he said.

"Sounds good to me. Have room for one more?" requested a voice from the window and Masumi would be a filthy liar if she said that she – along with everyone else – didn't jump out of her feet. Sawatari looked like he wanted to hide under the bed, and for once Masumi didn't feel like laughing at him for it.

There sat perched upside down was the Haven girl from before, though she was not wearing her uniform anymore. Rather, she wore a white jacket with pastel colors. Despite the wardrobe change, Masumi recognized her green hair, golden eyes and the little antlers peeking from her bangs.

What was her name? Lynn? Erin? But more important than anything: how much had she heard? Stupid question, she knew, but maybe they could they pretend to have been talking about something else entirely? Would she rat them out if it wasn't possible?

"Oi! Rin! Can I come inside now? It's freezing out here!" yelled yet another voice, this one much louder, whinier too.

However, the girl seemed unconcerned as she swooped up for a minute, then a smack was heard along with grumbling, and then she swooped back again – like a swing or something – and added,

"Mmmm… Actually…make that two," she said, winking at them.

At this point, why not invite the entire school?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I may have taken a bit of an "hibernation state from writting during the holidays, because my house get full of ALL my relatives and I can't think when I'm surrounded by so many people, and they are so nosey and... well either here is the new chapter with Ironwood's POV as a gift! (Also can you guess the very special guest on this chapter?)
> 
> Also some crumb trails, although those ones are up to you to follow or else the birds will eat them :P


	5. 4.- Mission (Stage One)

"Welcome. For those who don't know me, my name is Glynda Goodwitch. I will be your combat instructor for the duration of the semester… "

"I thought classes had been cancelled for the next few days?" said one voice behind Hokuto. "Why are we on the arena?"

"Because this is a very… special occasion. It has occurred to us, the Headmaster and myself, that you need a …entertainment for the time being…"

"Why do you ask me? Goodwitch was the one who cited us here," snapped the other one back. "Tch. Something about some _friendly_ competition games!"

Really, the reason he had chosen to remain in the back of the benches was so he could pass unnoticed and have some piece of mind. Instead, he got this.

"….Jeez, maybe we should have stayed in our rooms. Look at this!" the first boy said again, probably pointing at the current people in the benches: less than thirty people, from all years and schools. “Sorry excuse for entertainment if you ask me.”

"…The rules will be slightly different from our usual combat lessons, **First** : the participation will be entirely voluntary. **S** **econd** : since the objective of the games is not to find a winner, once you fight once, you will return to your seat and another student shall take your place…"

"You ain't wrong, and Goodwitch hasn't seen us all the way back here. We could probably sneak out…" the other one agreed and there was some faint snickering before there was a soft sound from next to them.

"… **Third** : Although one against one is strongly encouraged, there is no limit to the amount of people challenging another one in combat. Of course, only if the party at disadvantage allows it…"

As if someone had tried to clear their throat, but only managed to make it sound like a cough or maybe a gulp.

"…If any of you really think that the Professor has not seen you, then I would seriously consider the thought of skipping more classes," said the deep voice, whom Hokuto supposed came the earlier attempt.

Hokuto wished he could see the faces of the other two students because given the gasps and growls he heard he bet they must have been hilarious, but that would completely go against his earlier plan.

Keep a low profile, so you won't draw attention to you, or your team's absence.

"You little _beast_. Who the hell do you think you are, uh?"

"Yeah! Why don't mind you own business?! Or would you rather we showed you the many ways we can kick your ass?!"

"…And I'm so glad that we already have volunteers for the first round of the Fighting Games!" the Professor's voice suddenly echoed in the arena. "Shin Takeda and Ken Umesugi, please step down and go to the lockers to change. You will go against…."

Hokuto could almost swear that even from the distance there was a faint smirk on her face.

"…Yuto from the Shade Academy!"

From behind him, Hokuto saw a slightly short and lanky boy with a wild black and blue hair – of course Hokuto's eyes went directly to the small and furry black ears peeking out from said _mane_ – walking down the stairs, hands in his pockets and wearing dark clothes.

When he heard a faint 'Eek!' coming from behind him, he smiled.

 _'This ought to be good_ _._ _'_

∞

After a slightly… messy escape, Yuzu couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed about their destination.

"Uh… no offense, but from all the points to choose from, this is where we're starting this 'reconnaissance' mission?" she asked once they arrived at their destination:

One of Vale's support CCT towers, right in the middle of the city's downtown district.

If she was honest, she had wanted to protest from the minute the 'assignments' were handed out, but after running into some… discontent with the teams formed, they had wasted enough time.

Really though, they could have done this without leaving Beacon in the first place.

"We would have called way more attention inside the school, given the current… concurrence," Reiji said, looking over at the tower.

"…Why here exactly? If you're planning to 'scour' for more information…." she said putting a hand on his arm before they could enter the building. "… We will actually be exposing ourselves more. They must be monitoring all the wireless signals after being hacked by the White Fang." Yuzu found herself looking to the side, amplifying her hearing range for a couple seconds to see if they weren't attracting attention already.

Or if there wasn't someone overhearing, but they seemed to be fine… for now.

"Which takes time," he answered. "In order to cover the entirety of the information traveling all the signals _simultaneously_ rather than inferring as they usually do, the required spy bots will need to be amplified and powered up. I'm familiar with this type of technology and it will give us around a 24 hours window time before they start analyzing to a global level," he said.

"Which is why you insisted that we needed to do it today." She understood, releasing him and made her way to the stairs for the building's entrance.

Reiji was the one not following her now, though. Instead, he was now looking slightly…regretful? Or he could just be uncomfortable.

"…Do you still want to do this?" he asked, peering up at her, and Yuzu knew, she just knew that if she decided she wanted to turn back and head back to Beacon, he wouldn't pin it against her.

Her chest heaved a little as relief passed through her and she found herself shaking her head at this, a smile forming in her lips.

"And miss yet another exciting _mission_? Just… come over here!" she said. He heeded and caught up to her.

Anyone else would have missed his tiny smile, but Yuzu didn't.

∞

How had she gotten into this?

_"You have to be kidding me…" Masumi muttered as soon as the two Faunus 'spies' stepped into the dorm._

_"Nope!" the green haired girl spoke and despite herself, Masumi flinched, how did she..?_

_"Don't look so surprised, you can't fool these you know," she said covering her ears while wearing a cheeky smile._

_"Fair point, but how did you know we were-" started Reiji, but the girl held up her hand and answered:_

_"If I were you, I would choose a better 'meeting' place than the school garden,you know?"_

_Masumi wanted to ask something else too,but before she could, the boy raised up to meet her eyes and seemed to zero in on her with some type of machine-like precision. Masumi was too shocked to even push him aside and after a little while she saw how his blue eyes went from cold to shimmer with wonder._

_"Oi! Rin you were right!" he said looking back at his companion. "Who would have known?! I thought-"_ _Whatever he was about to say, he was stopped by this 'Rin' girl who took him by the nape of his neck and chided:_

_"Yugo, what have I told you about respecting personal spaces?" she said with a strained smile._

_"B-but I can't do it as well as you and-"_

_"And it's rude to stare at people like that, you know?" Rin interrupted again, but Masumi didn't miss the sideways look he gave to her nor the tiny sneaky smile she directed at her._

_And Masumi cursed in her head._

"Here, we have to wear this," Rin told her as she handled her a white mask. A White Fang mask.

"I'm not wearing… that." Taking a step back from their hiding place.

After Rin seemed to make sure they had not called anyone's attention, she frowned at her, pouting for good measure.

"Wow, I thought a so-called team _leader_ had more sense than that," she snorted and pointed at her. "Buuut I guess I was wrong, hanging around _humans_ has made you soft," she said.

Masumi was sure that the brush that the tip of her finger gave to her LDS was anything but accidental. She would have been more indignant if she didn't feel like throwing up in that moment.

Her mind repeated the word 'humans' in a loop, clearly not including her in the distinction. She used the nearest wall to support herself until it passed.

Then she heard the Rin girl gasp.

"You…I thought… how?….You didn't know," she heard Rin whisper with no small amount of surprise, then she looked to the 'meeting' place where there were already some people arriving. "Will you be fine? Maybe we should go back," she mentioned, rubbing her forehead and sighed.

Masumi narrowed her eyes at this, then to the entrance of the warehouse and eyeing up the mask still in Rin's hand, which she snatched and glared at before putting it on.

It was very hard not feeling… like a traitor, but she swallowed the bile down her throat.

"Let's just get inside," she said walking past her.

"Wait just one minute," commanded Rin, putting a hand on her shoulder. "As much as I like your newfound cooperation," she said, looking a tad bit arrogant in Masumi's book, "I was not accounting for your errr… unfamiliarity with this so…" She paused just long enough to put on a mask of her own. "… For the time being and for our own security, let me do the talking," she said, winking at her.

"…Fine," Masumi responded, trying to sound smug despite feeling a teeny tiny bit relieved.

She wasn't about to admit it out loud, but despite her bravado, she wasn't ready to face certain… matters, which was only made clearer as they walked as calmly as possible to the entrance of a warehouse. Masumi wondered what were the chances of this being the same one that her friends had encountered. The guard was not wearing a uniform or even a mask; he looked like some regular nightclub bouncer or security guard.

"Do we really need to wear the masks? That guy doesn't have one!" she wondered.

"We are posing as new recruits, it's a show of… compromise, loyalty," Rin answered, not turning or slowing down.

"Why choose Grimm-looking mask t-" Masumi stopped talking when Rin made a 'stop' hand gesture, meaning they were in hearing range of the guard.

They both stopped in front of him, who looked first at Rin then at her. He seemed to sniff something in the air, or was it at _them_? Masumi wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer and after the longest seconds of her life, he nodded and gestured them to get in.

Rin passed first getting a nod from the guy and Masumi followed the cue… only to have a heavy arm landing on her shoulder and Masumi could hear the low growl under his breath. Was she busted? Where they going to throw her into some dingy old dungeon? Or-

"The _cub_ stays," he snarled in a way that reminded Masumi of a hiss, trying all too hard not to fixate on  _what_  he just called her. "She stinks."

Rin stepped in, forcing the guard to release her.

"I'm well aware. You think I can't _smell_ it too?" Rin spoke, scrunching her nose but not deterred by the huge difference in build and height between herself and the guy. "But she comes with me," she said, squaring her shoulders and directing a glare at the guy.

They stared each other down for quite a while – or at least that's how long it looked to Masumi – when he finally dropped his shoulders and went back to his position. Masumi got the image of him as a kicked puppy.

Probably best to keep that thought to herself.

"Glad we cleared that out," Rin said with a smile and lead Masumi to the door.

Inside, rather than looking like a warehouse, it looked like some sort of… conference room; if you could ignore the metal walls and the salty smell of the sea. Also, Masumi would bet all her music collection that below the all tarps there were some sort of hidden weapons or Dust supplies.

Maybe all of them.

There were also all the Faunus; Masumi had never seen such a huge concentration of them in one place. They usually hung out in small groups or liked going solo, but here they were like… like regular people. They chatted, joked around and laughed. If it weren't for the creepy Grimm masks they all wore and the guards stationed at all the exits, this may as well look like a social mingle.

"They are not Grimm masks," Rin spoke, as if reading her thoughts. "I'm sure you've heard that one: _Humans wanted to see and treat us like monsters, so we would become monsters_. she said, rolling her eyes and adding: “How dramatic, how heinous! How very _grim_ , isn't it?"” putting her hand on her forehead in a mock effort to look worried and dismayed, and giving her a Deja-vu about Sawatari to boot.

"…" Masumi had indeed heard that; who hadn't after all? But she kept her comments to herself; she already felt like a toddler in this place.

A toddler, not a cub. Most definitely _not a cub_.

"…It's because we are _no one_. We are not allowed to be. We have no past, no history, no home. From the moment we are born those things are denied to us and made to wear masks, but we do not need them…"

Masumi felt a frown forming in her face; that made no sense. "Then why-"

"These masks…" Rin said tapping on hers. "…Are ones of our own making. They stand for what cannot be forgotten, ignored or forgiven. A memory come to life."

"That's…" Presumptuous, superstitious, ridiculous. "…interesting, but what has that to do with anything?"

"Because the White Fang are messengers," Rin said. "Or at least they were meant to be."

"…You seem to know an awful lot about the White Fang," she commented after a minute of examining the place one more time. "…And I know _this_ ," she tapped her mask. Now it felt hard and rough, handmade, so definitely not plastic. "Is not some cheap imitation."

"I'm a Faunus," she responded, shrugging.

"That's not an answer," she countered, feeling herself frowning for whatever she said seemed to have caught everyone's attention. Masumi didn't need to look around to know that people were now staring and murmuring about her. Rin, on the other hand, merely raised her eyebrows and giggled.

"…You really spend way too much time around humans," she said and before anyone else could talk, the lights went out.

∞

"Tell me again why we're we coming back here?" asked Yuya, trying not to sound too moody about this.

"Technically we were never here," pointed out Yaiba from behind him. "And we are here, because we are the only ones who that Torchwick guy doesn't know the face of."

"He doesn't know Reiji's face either," he grumbled.

"Please, everyone knows his face," countered Yaiba, rolling his eyes from below the purple specs at him. "And unless you somehow polished your non-existent computer hacker skills, we're stuck being on with getting Intel for the time being."

He dropped his shoulders in defeat. Fine, maybe he should be thankful. They got the relatively tailor-made for them part of the …'mission'.

Yuya just wished it didn't need for them to wear such ridiculous clothing. Yaiba at least got to keep his vest on top of some colorful shirt and dress pants. The only intent was making him look older. He, on the other hand, was stuck with what could only be described as… some type of indie band member who had a thing for leather – damn it was itchy! – and chains.

He hoped it meant nobody would recognize him, lest he die of shame.

"Come on, it's not so bad," Yaiba said, when he noticed him pulling at the tight pants again. "And be honest: would you rather it be Sawatari or that Faunus guy on a mission that requires going under radar and playing it _cool_?" he asked, raising his glasses to make a point.

"…Good point," he admitted.

They both stared at the building one more time: The Underground had not changed in the slightest since they last saw it. It had the same layout on the building, the same blocked top windows, and the exact same rhythmic music making the little pebbles in the street rumble. Yuya had no idea what type of club was open and working before nighttime, but considering it still had the remains of several cop tapes broken and covered in dust on almost every single exit, he wasn't sure he wanted to find out.

"Ready?" asked Yaiba, standing beside him and preparing his glyphs.

"Not really," Yuya said before focusing on the entrance spot past the bouncer and feeling Yaiba grabbing him by his shoulders.

"…Never mind that. Off we go!" And that was the last thing Yuya heard before he got tunnel vision from both the speed and the force.

Right, he had forgotten to put his goggles on.

∞

"ACHOOOO!!!!"

"HEY! YOU COULD AT LEAST COVER YOUR MOU-! ARRGH!"

"BUGS ARE A BITCH AREN'T THEY?!"

Sawatari could only nod as the guy continued to speed up through the streets, probably breaking at least a dozen traffic rules by doing so, and he wanted to scream his lungs out when he used a construction ramp to jump over a large pothole, but that would mean swallowing even more critters.

So he did the only thing that would manage to keep him sane for the rest of the ride: he closed his eyes, shut his mouth tight and grabbed for dear life onto his… 'Chauffer'.

For a while the only thing heard was the traffic sounds and some yelling, but he refused to look.

"Um..."

He would surely die riding this death trap.

"Hey dude..."

And then his father would probably lead a vendetta campaign against the City Council before it occurred to him he could use it for his campaign.

"OI!!!"

Sawatari jumped out in surprise at the yelling – which came accompanied by a low growl, figures – and entering panic mode by thinking that he would fall into the traffic and be squashed like a banana. He then realized that the bike had stopped and he was still clutching tightly to the lower half of the Faunus boy, who now looked blue in the face and as if he was trying very hard not to push him off.

"Oh… I…" he started. "I usually don't ride on bikes," he offered as an explanation, slowly disentangling himself from the boy. What was his name? Something like Julian or Hugo, he remembered.

"Yeah… I noticed," the boy said, coughing to the side and removing his helmet. He rubbed his ears as if the hurt or something. "Anyway,we're here."

 _'Uh?'_ Sawatari looked around him and noticed that they were in the middle of downtown, parked in front of the Vale General Hospital. It was currently filled with people outside the building holding protests signs and members of the press. The cops were forming a barricade, attempting to keep the entrances as clear as possible and even from the distance he could see all the staff running around from one task to another, along with some pallets.

No good. Nobody told Sawatari that they would have an audience. If someone – anyone – caught a hair of him on camera remotely involved in a scandal like this and accompanied by a Faunus on top of everything, his parents would never let him hear the end of it.

Before he could even search for a proper hiding place, he felt himself being pulled into the dark alley next to the building. Sawatari caught his breath in time to see the guy pushing his bike into the corner and hiding it behind some planks.

"So…How exactly are we gonna do this?" asked his… temporary partner after the task was done.

"Watch and learn," instructed Sawatari, allowing himself a cocky smile and a flick of his hair before he looked over the building, looking for an open window. There was none, which only left the roof where - if the blueprints Reiji got were up to date – there would be a door.

"Say..." he said, eyeing up his tail – moving back and forth like a pendulum or something, "I don't suppose you're afraid of heights, do you?" he questioned, lifting his hand to point.

"Nu-uh, but I know that if you point to that place you will tangle with the wires and electrocute yourself," he said, looking at the same spot he was pointing. His blue eyes looked shiny in the dark, he realized. He took his hand and moved it by an inch or two. "There, do your thing now," he said in a hush.

Sawatari thought he might be grinning and giving him the thumbs up, but it was too dark to tell apart anything save his slightly glowing eyes.

"Alrighty..." he said while he made the signals for the 'Release & Hook' commands. He begrudgingly admitted that, in his head, the wires did miss the energy cables and then tested the hold on it.

It seemed solid enough.

"Done, now hold onto me," he said, trying not to look at how his tail was circling around his waist now…freaky.

"Thanks, but there's no need for that!" he said with a wide grin and he got on all fours and jumped. He jumped! No enhancements, no aura, no semblance. He just watched as he jumped from spot to spot on the wall like some stray cat until his form was too small to make out in the dark.

Showoff. He had made a fool of the great Sawatari on purpose, he was sure of it. It was his intent on giving him a piece of his mind when he pulled with a bit more pressure than necessary, making him rise to a higher speed than originally planned.

He would congratulate himself later for not screaming his lungs out for the second time in a row now.

"Wow that was awesome!!" he heard before opening his eyes and gave a little squeak at seeing the glowing eyes again. "Did you really make that?"

"Of course I the marvelous Sawatari spares no maneuvers when it comes to-" Sawatari was attempting to make a grandiose gesture but he felt his hand being grabbed and the guy – Yugo! He remembered now – was looking at his hand as if it was some type of treasure and whistled in appreciation.

"Now _this_ is cutting-edge technology. The fabric of these gloves is like a perfect combination of iron, optical fibers and Dust channels,which in  conjoint make an almost flawless movement transition of the chains responding to your hand's muscle memory and-" Whatever else he was about to say – not that Sawatari understood much of it, but still – was halted. He was as still as a statue, concentrating heavily on something.

He almost looked like a completely different person, one that you wouldn't want to mess around with.

"What are you-"

The question never left his mouth as he felt a gloved hand cover it. He felt himself being pulled backwards into a corner. What was wrong with him?! He would surely choke him to death wouldn't he, that's what he got for trusting a Fa-

"…I don't know dude! I mean, I'm sure the Council has their reasons right?"

 _'Oh…oh!'_ Sawatari forced himself to breathe through his nose as the two figures carrying lamps came through the door.

"…They still could have showed a bit more ….understanding. Like I mean what do those old coots know about what happens outside in the kingdoms while they sit around all day long in their fancy offices?"

They looked like the security staff from the hospital, meaning that they were not cops. That was a relief – maybe - and since they sounded so engrossed in their debacle they wouldn't notice them.

"…Whatever dude. I'm sleepy and all this talk is giving me a headache…"

"… _You_ were the one who brought it up."

Sawatari could not see or hear them anymore, but after some more shuffling around and a light coming dangerously close to his shoes, he heard the door being closed and the roof was dark again.

The grab was loosened then and he was able to breath normally again.

"...You could've asked you know?" he complained, rubbing the lower side of his face. For whatever reason it felt… oily.

"Hehehe, sorry. I just reacted," he apologized as they both walked to the door. All they needed was to break in, search for the required files, and …check for some more stuff, and be out to their meeting spot in less than two hours.

Except that the door was locked, scratch that, not just locked – if it would have been just that he could have handle it -, but they found there was no lock. Instead, there was some sort of panel and eye biometric reader.

They were screwed, because Sawatari knew this security system. They couldn't just break in, much less smash it, unless they wanted the entire security staff on their butts in less than fifteen minutes.

"…I was sure the security system had yet to be updated," he said, more to himself than Yugo. He tried to think something, but everything seemed to aim toward their little adventure would be over before even beginning.

"Let me try," spoke his partner next to him, eyeing up the panel with a glint in his eyes – a figurative one this time – and tapped on it before Sawatari could mouth the word 'no' let alone cover his eyes, duck and wait for the worse.

Which never came.

Yugo seemed to be surfing on the option on the menu and then there was some buzzing sound, not an ugly sound, but more like humming and the panel turned off, a soft click told Sawatari that the door was open now.

"H-how?" he asked, even if he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"I have a… hand with these things," he answered with a huge grin, his chest all inflated and his hands on his waist…. In short he looked a little too proud of this, with good reason and Sawatari could tell because he was completely annoyed by it too.

…Oh dear, is this what it felt like hanging around him?

∞

Libraries where huge, spacious, full of tiny little crooks and most of all, given that it was one of Beacon's oldest buildings - second only to the Tower - the security in it was limited to a couple of cameras and guards that were all easily bypassed.

Thus making it the perfect place for … reunions.

"Games? Why would I want to play a …game?" she asked with such a scrunched face when she said the last word - as if the word hurt her pride or something – that Dennis was trying very hard not to be exasperated at Serena's extensive ignorance of the most simple of social conventions.

Along with Sora doing pretty much whatever he wanted, – where was he now anyway? – this was starting to feel more and more like a babysitting gig rather than an actual mission, and he was finding it very hard not to feel insulted by the Professor.

_'Now, now don't complain. You reap what you sow …'_

"It's not a game, it's a …friendly competition. You know, like the round ups we used to have at…" He doesn't finish the sentence, both for precaution and for lack of words.

"I wouldn't use the word friendly to describe those," she said, frowning after a while and Dennis couldn't agree more, – even if he was also sure she wouldn't be able to describe _friendly_ if it hit her in the face – especially when it was your 'initiation'…

"Nevertheless, at least one of us has to be there. Think of it as… a show of good will," he added. "Just… you know, try not to cripple someone _permanently_." Serena regarded him with the same defiant face she used for every little thing she found 'unworthy.'

His eyes drifted to her wrist where the bracelet stared back at him – the blue gem glinting almost as if it was mocking him, as usual, – and he gritted his teeth. If she wasn't the Professor's little… _treasure_ then she wouldn't be so damn disagreeable.

But that ridiculous bracelet wasn't going to shield her forever.

Dennis felt something shift inside him, along with his expression, his body, and his mood, bringing out the side of him which he managed to keep under wraps most of the time.

"You know… _The_ Professor appointed me as leader for a reason. We are all here for a very important mission, a common goal if you mind. If you fail to be a valuable asset in completing it… then I'm sure he'll have no trouble bringing you back home," he muttered, watching her expression carefully.

When her hands gripped the table, digging her nails in the hard wood, he knew he beat her.

"Understood…leader," she said before she nodded in agreement, looking at her dimmed out eyes and her vacant expression Dennis thought that maybe, maybe he ought to feel bad about this.

But she brought it upon herself.

∞

The blade changed sizes one more time to stop both machetes about to strike from above him and using its leverage to push them both to the other side of the arena where both Shin and Ken almost lost their step before landing on their feet.

Really, it should be illegal for Faunus to use their augmented strength against humans.

The Faunus then went back into defensive position and the black blade disappeared leaving only a long handle in his hands.

Shin seemed to be the first losing his temper at their opponents' composed attitude and went on a rampage on the guy who didn't even bother to form the blade this time.

He was just deflecting his moves and stopping them with the handle. To the Beacon guy’s credit, Ken grabbed the guy by the waist.

The result was a cloud of dust covering the arena and when it cleared out the Faunus guy was on the ground with Ken's feet on his back and Shin was holding his weapon in one hand, dangling above him as if it was trophy of sorts.

Good, the fight had prolonged for far too long; at least in Hokuto's opinion.

If he was honest, he had sort of expected that the Shade guy would be mopping the floor with the two guys – Hokuto certainly would if he had been called a 'beast' right to his face – as comeuppance of sorts.

As it was and after the third time the Faunus guy had managed to deflect a double attack from both sides with the same defensive move, each time Hokuto had lost interest on the outcome and simply wondered what was worse: watching 'bat boy' – he wasn't totally sure he was a bat though, but he certainly looked the part – playing safe or the fact that his own classmates failed to get past such an basic defensive strategy?

Watching them now, he had his answer.

"Yuto!" Hokuto winced at the loud yell – almost like a caw – came right from behind him, but before he could object to the source his view was obscured by a feminine figure walking from the bench behind him. The only thing he could make out of her was the purple feather-like hair that went a little below her waist. "Get up!! Stop taking it easy with them!!" she yelled, her fist raised up into the air.

The only thing she had managed was to bring out attention to their corner, including the people in the fight.

"Who was that, huh? Your lovely _mate_?!" Ken said out loud and on purpose to make sure everyone in the benches heard. "What do ya think, Shin?! The birdie doesn't look half bad, eh? Maybe after we beat this one and as the _alpha males_ here… we can go and have some fun with her?"

Hokuto felt himself wince both because of the murmurs and looks going the girl's way – which no doubt she could hear better than him – and the implications which even he found distasteful.

Why was Glynda even allowing this? Hokuto thought. She was in the corner of the arena, not a sign of moving a finger.

"Gee, I don't know," Shin said after snickering. "…I mean I get that you'd want to – you'd hump a warm piece of cloth if you could – but I'm not really into _anima_ -"

Whatever else he was about to say – even though everyone knew very well what it was – it was stopped by the most ridiculous morph on his face; as if he was being slapped by some unseen object.

But while everyone was laughing at this, Hokuto saw the Faunus guy rising on his knees, his hand just making the corresponding motion for the supposed hit.

Then, Shin bent over as if he had been hit in the stomach and now there was no denying of the fact that even if the stats weren't showing it,his Aura  levels were dropping.

When Ken recovered from the initial shock, he tried to swing at his opponent from the back with his machete, aimed for his head. The guy seemed to react only long enough to turn, covering himself with one arm.

Until the blade stopped midair. No; it clashed against something.

And this time Hokuto and the audience were able to see that in their reflected shadows on the wall, the Faunus's shadow was wielding a shield.

It then transformed into a cudgel and sent Ken flying away, along with his weapon.

Hokuto tried not to think about the glowing eyes he _thought_ he saw on the boy's shadow… probably just a mirage.

Along with the birring sound, the screen showed his Aura completely depleted and disqualifying him from the fight.

"…Ken! What the he-" Before Shin could finish, the Faunus' leg kicked him in the mouth and took his weapon right from below him, quickly activating it.

This time it took the shape of a simple dagger rather than a decent-sized blade, but the murderous look on his face made it way more dangerous like that.

_'When you have the shorter blade, you got to stay near, and slash down with all your strength.'_

Those were the words that ghosted in his head before the dark boy lashed out at Shin, aiming for his stomach.

.

.

.

"That will be enough!"

Hokuto was sure everyone in the benches jumped at the yell of Glynda calling the fight off when the bell sounds didn't work. Some people looked disappointed, others relieved and the Professor…

Well, she looked completely livid as she pointed her wand at the students, stopping them from continuing.

"…The round is over. You are all disqualified since your Aura levels dropped below the safe amount."

'What?' Hokuto turned his eyes to the screen, which indeed showed red bars for all three of them. The Faunus boy – Yuto the screen said – had the lowest of them all, but he didn't look tired in the slightest.

If anything, he looked completely tense, ready to spring into battle again, only to fall on his face when Glynda released her hold on them.

"Go back to your seats," she practically spat at them. The smaller boy seemed to look around him for a minute before coming to his senses and muttering an apology to her. "…And Mr. Takeda and Umesugi…"

They both turned, Ken aimed by Shin.

"…I expect both of you in my office after the games are over."

The look on their faces was priceless, all white, blue and red at the same time while they tried to make a case to Glynda, who simply nudged the other boy to his seat.

"…I don't want to hear your excuses, not here at least. There's a reason why I called them friendly games…."

Their talk was cut short by a loud voice resonating in the arena:

"…If you allow me, Professor! I would love to give a marvelous and less… atrocious demonstration of my own!"

Hokuto would recognize that ridiculous voice anywhere by now. It was the redheaded student from yesterday standing next to his blue haired teammate at the door of the arena.

Glynda peered over at them, narrowing her eyes for a minute before sighing at the cheers everyone gave at his bright disposition.

Well, everyone but the Faunus girl who was still blocking part of his view.

Her eyes looked murderous to him.

"…Do we have any challengers for Dennis Macfield from the Atlas Academy?" Glynda asked and there were lots of lifted hands and volunteers, including the girl, but one look of her teammate and a shake of his head seemed enough to calm her down in appearance, if not in her utterly tense body. From the other side of the arena, Hokuto saw an all too familiar shape rise, and he felt his jaw drop.

What was he doing here? He should be in the city with the others!

"I the man Gongenzaka shall proudly take upon the challenge!" Gongenzaka exclaimed, his booming voice rising well over the rest of the people.

"Oh! I like his attitude! Miss Goodwitch do I get to choose?" Dennis requested, jumping from his place on the terrace to the center of the arena, adding a couple of very unnecessary flips and spins into the action that nonetheless had everyone gasping in surprise and clapping at the display.

"I'll allow it then," said Glynda, adjusting her glasses.

Dennis then bowed in Gongenzaka's direction and motioned him to the arena as some type of host or something that earned some swoons from his classmates.

Gongenzaka, on the other hand, couldn't help but feel his brow sweat at the ridiculous show. He shouldn't have to be here, and he ought to be with his friends – his team! What was he going to say to his father if he ever heard of this?

 _'He would tell you to shut down our protests and listen to your leader!'_ a voice in his head helpfully supplied, followed by Reiji's voice:

_'…Don't misunderstand, I value your abilities, but this party cannot as concurred as it is and there's something I need your assistance in the meanwhile…'_

That's right, Gongenzaka ought to play nice for the greater good, and if doing so helped his friends' presences go unnoticed, then getting some practice in would just be an added bonus.

So he went down to the arena in silence, allowing his heavy footsteps to echo in the arena, and he didn't miss the Fumma twins nodding to him from the audience.

He could do this, he thought, finally standing in front of his opponent.

Dennis smiled at him and waved his hand as if he was an old acquaintance, to which he just nodded in acknowledgement. He was very… eager it seemed and Gongenzaka didn't particularly like his over the top attitude, or how relaxed he seemed and how nothing on him looked - at the moment - like a weapon; as if none of this ought to be taken seriously.

He reminded him of Yuya, Gongenzaka decided: an all-around friendly guy – if even less filters than him – which he imagined would get along incredibly well with his friends.

But if Reiji tasked him with keeping an eye on him and his team, then he knew there was a good reason to be on guard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...So if I said that my writing went into a hibernating perioud during the winter, how many would actually bought it? *chirping crickets* Yeah I though so.
> 
> Anyway this chapter is a set up for the next few ones, and their little adventure on the city and some ...performances on the fighting ring, which no doubt will raise a couple of eyebrows once it's done, as for the title ...you know how much I love shitty puns :P
> 
> Also, the Atlas and the Haven crew will fight? Place your bets people.


	6. 5.- Undercover (Stage Two)

"What is the meaning of this?" he questioned to the unit that now laid inside the garden's fountain. It was his unit, all drenched and handcuffed in their underwear – Atlas's SCP handcuffs, on top of that – their uniforms nowhere to be seen.

"There was a... situation," the Blue soldier spoke on behalf of his Red and Yellow recruits.

Edo was not having a good day, and this certainly did not help matters in the slightest. He had been called on an emergency in the middle of the night by none other than General Ironwood, ordering his presence in Vale all the way from Atlas, first thing in the morning.

Even without knowing the details, he would never ditch a direct order. Yes he had not slept a wink, had arrived and told to - for all intents and purposes - babysit the kids from attempting to leave the Beacon Academy grounds, and now this...

Sometimes he wished he had taken upon his superior's suggestion of a vacation.

"I'm listening," he conceded to the officer, sparing him the shame of continuing his salute in his current state of undress.

"T-There were a couple of Beacon children who approached us for a bit of..." he seemed to struggle with his words as he got the words out, "...career advice for Hunters and-"

"Spare me the details of your incompetence," he interrupted through gritted teeth.

"R-right! Of course sir, um, long story short: when they got to their positions, there was a deafening sound, then a blur of blinding lights. We then saw a couple of shoots past behind us and for a couple of minutes we got a strange sensation of weightlessness. After the feeling went away, we were dropped into the fountain in our current state of wear, and saw them run towards the cable carts." When he finished he was trembling. Edo couldn't be sure if it was from the cold water or fear, but he also didn't care.

"Do you have names? Descriptions? Rankings?" he asked.

"No sir, as I ...forgot to mention it, right? Before they were out of sight, we noticed they were wearing our uniforms and.... I do not wish to waste your time with an excuse but... I believe some of them may have illusions type semblances, so our accounts are not the most trustworthy at the moment."

"You are completely right," he said and waited until the soldier's shoulders dropped a little on relief before continuing. "It is not an excuse."

"I...Yes sir." The soldier dropped his stance as Edo started to pace in front of them.

"Are you not full-fledged hunters? Were they not merely students? Why didn't you use your weapons? A bullet or two should have been enough," he pressed.

"Sir! It all happened too fast... and Headmaster Ozpin was very clear on the subject of not engaging his students in combat unless it was strictly necessary!"

That did make Edo stop in consideration... So it appeared the rumors about the man were right, he thought sighing.

"Understood. I can see why you saw it unfit to challenge the direct orders of your superiors..." He started the pacing once more. "...However, the fact remains that they – or their illusions as you may theorize – were able to get near you without any suspicion on your part, and that is still inexcusable."

"Of course, sir."

"From this day on, you are demoted to the Yellow ranks," he said in a firm voice, not leaving room for protest. "Tomorrow, I shall assign a new Captain to this unit."

"...Understood, sir. May I make one last request as captain?" the soldier requested, removing the blue plaque of his chest and after one last look and a small sigh he offered it back to Edo.

"You may," he conceded, taking the badge from his hands.

"Can you help the rest of my unit get down from the tree?" he requested pointing to a nearby trunk adorned with seals and homemade charms. In it there laid another four soldiers, uniforms stolen as well, and stuck with some type of arrows.

 _'Three, plus the other four_ _i_ _n the fountain_ _makes it_ _seven fugitive students_ _. S_ _even.'_

Edo was fighting the urge to rub his temples in front of them, but as soon as he freed them from their makeshift entrapment with a wave of his hand, a glint on one of the arrows called his attention. He picked it up, and Edo allowed himself to admire the workmanship of the weapon. The smoothness of the case and its light weight all allowed for a better aim, but right now the glint came from the tip of the arrow.

It was a small but curiously elaborate print of golden lions: the Leo Corps logo.

∞

"Good morning, you are calling to the Headquarters of Leo C-" The automatic voice stopped once the speaker got a good look to the caller. "Mr. Reiji, it's been a while," the voice of his father's secretary greeted him, composing herself in less than a minute.

"It has," he answered back, taking notice on her having more gray hairs and wrinkles than the last time they spoke face to face.

"What can I do for you?" she asked, looking weary at the prospect of another tense call between him and his father.

"I need you to give me access to the core and research files of the company from yesterday to... ten years prior." He said confident that no emotions slipped past his control.

There was a heavy pause as she composed herself from the slight shock.

"With all due respect, Mr. Reiji, you know perfectly well I can't do that. If you want I can link the call to your father's office to see if he would like to heed your request but..." She left the sentence unfinished, leaving it obvious about the fruitlessness of said action.

He only looked to the side and sighed, making sure she watched.

"...No need for any of that. Father is a busy man. I do not wish to disturb his job." Reiji made sure to lower his eyes as he said this. "...In that case, can I have regular access pass for the general server files?"

She fixed him with her all-knowing stare and sighed in defeat,

"...Of course sir, no problem with that. I just need you to connect your scroll to the nearest Wi-Fi point access and I'll grant you access to it in exactly... ten minutes."

"Thank you, I appreciate it. Also..." he stopped not wanting to call more attention to himself.

"Yes, I will tell Mr. Reira that you have called," she said, finishing the call.

Ten minutes; they had ten minutes to prepare.

"Did you hear everything Yuzu?" he asked to no one around, rather to his partner on the other side of the room, whom just gave him her thumbs up.

Good, time to get to work.

∞

"This isn't so bad," he commented after turning down the waitress for another drink. Yaiba had been worried about them sticking out like a sore thumb because - if he was honest - putting things together from their combined wardrobes had not been the smartest choice, seeing as they ended up looking like one of those fashion magazines from twenty years ago.

As it was, they were actually the less extravagant people in the club.

Among the rarities Yaiba managed to spot in the low lighting of the place so far there were a group of giggling girls wearing body paint and beads on their hair, a guy wearing a bear suit, a couple – or at least he assumed they were a couple – of guys who wore leather everywhere except the parts of their bodies they would have to cover in public. Now that he thought about it,maybe a drink wouldn't be so bad. Maybe then the images wouldn't stick to his mind.

"What are you doing? We're underage!" hushed Yuya next to him, glaring at the glass with some fruity looking green liquid.

"We basically just broke curfew, stole from foreign militarily officers and snuck into a nightclub of questionable reputation before noon, and you wanna yell at me for a drink?"

Yuya grumbled a little, without his teammates around – Gongenzaka in particular – he was not really good at admonishing others.

"Um... well, we need to stay sober, right?" he commented, lifting his eyes up, but lowering it again when he noticed the nearby people staring. He looked almost bashful, making Yaiba wonder if his bravado and joking attitude went only surface-level.

"Cheer up. One drink won't do anything to us. You sure you don't want one?" he asked and Yuya's face paled at this.

"No thanks, my semblance... it doesn't mix well with things like caffeine or anything stronger than sugar... just... don't ask." He looked both nauseated and embarrassed - his face now mirroring his hair – and he couldn't help but become curious.

 _'Hey, as long as you don't try to take a bite off_ _my head,_ _it can't be that bad'_ and Yaiba bit his tongue to avoid letting those words slip past his lips, along with the line of thought. He locked it up in the back of his mind where it belonged.

"-aiba, Yaiba!" He felt Yuya's elbow hit him in the gut, making him spit the drink but contained himself when he saw what he was pointing at.

Or rather whom.

There at the entrance of the club, accompanied by the infamous Roman Torchwick, was none other than an entourage of White Fang members.

They were so screwed.

∞

He felt the sweat rolling down his forehead and knew that he needed to tone it down before his Aura started to drain, but Gongenzaka was far from willing to do so.

There was another shadow moving from the corner of his eye, he felt the panic raise within him at the realization.

_'Calm down, you can do this, just like you did back during training...'_

That's right, this was no different than catching onto Yuya, or the twins, and they were faster than him.

Still...

He closed his eyes and focused on the arena, his position and the scurry figure looking to hunt him down...

_'Remember not to fall prey to its game...'_

When he opened his eyes there he was: still with a wide smile and happy as ever, his hands holding what now looked like a huge magic wand, but Gongenzaka knew otherwise.

No magic wand felt that heavy against his block.

Then he almost keeled over as the pressure disappeared and his face was filled with plastic and fabric petals.

He had done it again. He made him lose his footing.

"Still not good enough?" Dennis asked, stepping back and throwing the bouquet to the benches. Gongenzaka was sure he heard a couple of squeals but he had to focus again. "Not to worry! I'll just need to try harder!"

"..." He swallowed back a retort. He had been wrong. This guy was nothing like Yuya...

"Mark my words, Noboru Gongenzka!" he yelled with his hands lifted in the air. "Before the clock strikes twelve, I will make you draw your weapon!" He pointed at the timer on the wall that read 11:30.

More cheers and squeals were heard before Gongenzaka could think clearly again.

...No, he was toying with him – definitely nothing like Yuya. He had to be the most exasperating person he had crossed paths with.

∞

"I'd like to give you all the utmost of welcomes."

That was the only greeting when Masumi saw a group of White Fang members walk onto the stage. Just like the people in attendance, they wore masks too, but theirs covered not only their whole face, but also had a slightly more intricate design to them. They were the only ones wearing full uniforms too.

Also, unlike the people attending, they all wore at least two different types of weapons.

She found herself gripping the handle of her own weapon inside her pocket, but a hand stopped her before she could use it.

"Stop. They are observing you," Rin said in a very quiet voice, barely moving her mouth.

"Me?" she asked wanting to look around, but Masumi forced herself to remain still, trying to ignore the cold sweat running down her back.

"Not just you." And Masumi was sure that behind her mask, Rin was rolling her eyes. "At all the newbies. They're trying to decide who is worthy of being recruited for field missions," Rin answered.

Masumi was about to ask something else when the figure onstage spoke up again:

"I'm pleasantly surprised by the numerous attendance today." Masumi tried to get a better look at the person speaking. They had no microphone, but they didn't need it. Their voice resonated through the entire place, but the mask hid everything except for a couple of horns on either side of their head.

A bull? A goat? She wasn't an expert on these matters.

"I think we all know why we're here, but I would like to hear you first. Let me and everyone in the room hear your silenced voice."

Masumi saw the spokesperson jump from his podium into the public rather than using the stairs. The way they landed, graceful and without a single misstep made her realize what she was dealing with: an experienced warrior.

As the person started to walk in front of them, their steps echoing on the silence, until someone spoke up:

"Um…" It was a girl wearing a school uniform and bear ears. Masumi would be surprised if she was older than her, but looking thoroughly at the rest of the Faunus, she realized now many of them were young-looking.

"Yes?" he spoke – from this close Masumi could now tell it was a male – his voice shifting to a softer tone, after a short appraisal.

"If I'm honest, I'm not sure why I'm here. All my life I thought I had nothing worth to fight for, that what I had was as good as it would ever get… but yesterday when I saw your offer, it was the first time I dared to wish for a better life for myself." During the entire time she had been playing with her fingers, but at the last sentence she raised her head and met his stare without budging.

Masumi expected anything from the man, except the pat on the head he gave the girl, and muttering something that only she could hear, leaving her astounded.

He kept walking among the groups, and little by little many of them shared their stories. Some seemed inconsequential to her, like another young girl who was tired of being bullied in school for her tail, a salaryman who was tired of being looked over on promotions and important decisions in his company, it didn’t matter he heard all of them patiently, but others were truly... shocking for lack of a better word.

A housewife who had been abandoned by her ma- partner, after their child who; unlike her vestiges of claws on her hands; had visible Faunus traits.

A man who had been incarcerated for 10 years over a minor offense.

A couple of siblings whose parents died after being denied treatment by a local hospital.

There was even an elderly woman who, on her own account, her husband had been worked to death by the Schnee Dust Company.

The testimonies went on and on, and Masumi was having a hard time keeping her head clear. In the span of an hour, she had already lost count of how many times she has tried to not take the mask off to rub her eyes, or going for a glass of water after feeling her throat dry. The feeling only increased the more she noticed that the man was getting closer and closer to where she and Rin stood. She felt a weight on her chest, and she could feel her breath hitching.

She needed to get out of here... But there was a squeeze on her hands before she could move and before Masumi could tear herself from her, there he was: no more than ten steps from them. It didn't matter that he was not that much taller or stronger-looking than either of them – he actually looked lean – but the power of his presence, only aided by his mask adorned with red markings contrasting his blue hair, and his horns that she could see now were of a ram, was undeniable now.

"You are not from around here." And Masumi was sure her heart would burst out of her chest any minute now. They had been spotted and they would be thrown into a dark dungeon and become another casualty in the great scheme-

"No, I am not," Rin said next to her, still holding tightly onto her. "I'm from Mistral," she added, her voice steady and unwavering.

"I figured as much..." he commented. “The mask suits you. Do you happen to be a sister from the City?" he asked, leaning into their personal space.

"I'm flattered, but I'm not. As you must be aware to live in the City, one must keep a low profile at all times," she answered him, still keeping her cool.

"...Indeed, why are you here?" In Vale, he meant. There were only two types of foreigners here in Vale at the moment: government officials and hunters in training.

It didn't take a genius to notice Rin was only old enough for the later.

"I'm here to reclaim my life," she answered. Short, simple and to the point; even Ozpin would have troubles spotting the lie in there. The man nodded after the longest seconds of her life and continued walking.

Walking past Masumi.

She allowed herself a breath of relief, at least before the man returned to the stage and with a clap of his hands the cloths fell from all the containers. No, not containers at all. Weapons, Dust, Money, she expected all of those things. Heck, she would have wanted to see those things compared to the alternative.

Rows and rows of Atlesian Knights, Airships, and machinery of all types, all of them stolen probably since she could see the logo of either the Atlesian Military or the Leo Corps, but the one that stood out the most was neither.

It was the robots, armor, battle suits, Masumi wasn't sure what they were supposed to be, but they all were at least sixteen feet, all armored with such a strong-looking cuirass that Masumi could bet her bullets would be little more than pest to it.

These people were not preparing for a revolt, or a revolution. They were preparing for a war.

∞

"So where is that room, anyway?" he asked after trying to make up the map on the dark corridors.

"You don't know?" Yugo almost yelled behind him and tried to grab the map, but Sawatari held it out of his range.

"Do I look like someone who gets ill easily? The last time I was here I was shorter than you!"

"Hey, I'm not that short!" he yelled this time for real and Sawatari had to remind himself not to yell back because from behind Yugo, he could see a shadow walking to their current spot.

But before they could run, there was a light casted upon them, freezing them in spot.

"What are you people doing out of bed-Hmph!" Yugo moved way too quickly for Sawatari to notice. In the time he took to turn and face their doom, Yugo already had the nurse pinned on the floor, her arms locked behind her and Yugo pressed his knee to her back, and his hand blocked her mouth from yelling for help.

 _'This is bad, this is bad...'_ Now he could add assault to the breaking and entering charges. He was truly a criminal now and even his Papa would not be able to help him out. He would be expelled from Beacon, disowned and fall into disgrace and then-

"What do we do with her now?" asked Yugo with a strained voice as the nurse in question kept trying to wiggle her way out of his hold.

"Do with her?! You just tackled her! What do you expect me to do? Tie her up and dump her in the trash compactor?!"

"Uh? Don't have to so drama-AGHH!" He jumped and Sawatari could swear it sounded like a screech, and that his hair stood on end now, along with his tail.

"What now?!"

"She bit me!" Yugo whimpered, holding his hand as if it was a serious injury.

"Are you kidding me? You're wearing gloves! How does that even hurt you? Just use your Aura!"

"What do you know? My hands are very sensitive and I work with my hands! I depend on them! And Aura doesn't always fix everything! What if I get infected or something?" Yugo yelled and turned to the nurse. "Oi! Lady! Aren't you a medical professional? Help me with this..."

His yell came to a stop as they both spotted she was on her way to scurry away on her tiptoes.

"Eek!" She very slowly turned around, and now Sawatari could see her uneven black hair and huge glasses. "Um yeah, your friend is right actually. All you need is to immerse it on warm water."

"...Isn't that for small burns?" he asked, and the nurse froze again, muttering to herself while checking a board she was carrying.

"Uh? Yeah of course, silly me. I mean that you just need to apply some salve on it so-"

"That's for infections and swelling," said Yugo this time, and her face now looked blue.

"Compresses! I meant compresses!" she yelled this time and she covered her face with her hands.

Silence ensued after that, and even Yugo stopped acting like a piss baby. Sawatari looked at the girl one more time, taking note of her clothes and shoes: the fabric of her uniform looked cheap, synthetic and not really comfortable or breathable for the job, and her shoes were sandals open with exposed toes. Not particularly safe in a place where infections and diseases abounded.

"You... are not really a nurse, are you?"

∞

"Now the one thing you will need to remember when it comes to awakening your semblance..."

Tatsuya felt restless. Ever since this morning, when they awoke to find that the Principal Hiragi had yet to come back from his trip, he knew that something had gone wrong. The feeling had only augmented when it was announced that Vale's Welcoming event was to be delayed for 'unforeseen reasons,' the news given not by Lisa Lavender for the first time since Tatsuya can remember, but replaced by the least professional news anchor he had seen.

"... Is that despite the breathing exercises I'm about to give you, you can't force it to manifest before time...."

Chills ran all over his body, even during one of the boorish lessons given by Gogenzaka's dad.

"...Semblance is the physical manifestation of one's soul. As such, there is an unpredictability inherent to this phenomena..."

"Do we have to stay here? We already know all of this!" whispered Ayu next to him. "If the Principal wasn't going to be here, then why couldn't we get a day off?" she questioned, bemoaning their fate.

"...It has, however, not stopped researchers from wanting to investigate its nature, experiment on its long-term consequences on the body, and classifications for them have been made according to the nature of its effects..."

"...Don't ask me..." said Futoshi, getting up from his desk and cleaning a bit of drool from his face.”At this point, my body may never shiver again!"

"...First, we know there are two main categories for them: outer and inbound ..."

"Tatsuya? Are you ok? You haven't asked any questions or written anything," Ayu asked, nudging him with her elbow and peeking at his notebook.

"Yeah, whose notes are we gonna copy if you make none?" added Futoshi.

"POP QUIZ TIME!!!"

A couple of seconds went by before any of them reacted to the booming voice echoing in the dojo, or to the loud stomp of a wooden sandal that had them jumping on the tatami.

Then they all got to their feet and formed a line in front of the old man who was glaring at them from below his bushy eyebrows.

"Ms. Ayukawa!" he started, stepping in front of her.

"Y-Yes sir!"

"We've already discussed the two main categories of semblance by nature. Now tell me the classifications by effect!"

"Y-yes! There are three: elemental, enhancement and... And..." Tatsuya knew the panicked look on Ayu's face; she had no idea what the final answer was.

"And...?" the old man pressed.

"And support!" Futoshi exclaimed, raising his hand. He was shivering again, but not out of excitement.

"Correct..." he answered, smoothing over his long beard.”Mr. Yamashiro, you have been awfully quiet during the entire class. Tell me what the classifications of semblance by level and explain the reasons behind them."

"Yes! They're Vital, Quiescent and Cipher," Tatsuya started, sucking in a breath for the full answer: "Vital semblances are those which are already awakened by a person and said person is properly trained or in training process on its usage. Quiescent semblance means it is an awakened but untrained semblance. Cipher refers to all those semblances which remain unawaken and thus untrained as well."

"It's correct... but incomplete," Mr. Gongenzaka said with a glint in his eyes.

"Uh? But I'm sure there was only-"

"I think you forgot something... dangerous," he interrupted him and Tatsuya remembered at this word.

"OH! I do know this one!" However, Ayu jumped in her spot. "It's the Noxious level! For very dangerous semblances, right?"

"Well done, Ms. Ayukawa, although I'm a little worried that you know about this and still miss more basic information," the old man said, and Ayu only stuck out her tongue. She looked both proud of herself and apologetic. "Still, Tatsuya, elaborate on the reasons behind this classification."

"Uh? Sure! Unlike the nature and effect classifications, which were product of extensive research, these were set by government officials as a security measure in an attempt to keep order after the Great War, which started with the three basic levels already mentioned. It wasn't until later that the 'Noxious' type was added due to some sporadic but disastrous incidents with people who for unknown reasons possessed a highly unstable semblance, or whose effects were deemed too dangerous for causing more harm than good."

Tatsuya allowed himself to take a breath after he finished, while Futoshi looked interested for the first time since the class started. Ayu seemed to drink on the information he just gave. As usual none of them acted weird, and Mr. Gongenzaka was stern as ever. Maybe his gut was lying to him and it would all be alright.

"Now according to the curriculum I received from your Principal, let us begin the first of your exercises, and if you work hard, and are very lucky, then you will be able to awaken your own semblance in little time..."

Futoshi and Ayu practically squealed at the announcement, and Tatsuya felt bad that he couldn't join fully in their delight, no matter how excited he had been for the day. His mind went to Yuya and how happy he had been the day he finally awoke his semblance. He had made sure to inform everyone in Patch who cared to listen in a matter of minutes, literally.

Or the time when the townspeople had thought there would be an earthquake the day Gongenzaka activated his for the first time. And how could he forget Yuzu and how she had-

"Tatsuya! Pay attention or you'll miss out!" Ayu whispered to him and he tried to focus on the explanations with little success.

He looked at the clock; 11:30, only half an hour for lunch, then two more hours of lessons, and then he could see if he could contact with the Principal,  he really hoped Yuya, Yuzu and Gongenzaka would also be fine.

∞

He had to blink again as the light and the confetti messes with hs field of view,

When Gongenzaka's fist was about to meet the student from Atlas, he vanished, leaving nothing but an explosion of colors and petals.

Again.

"What is he doing anyway?" asked Kachidoki next to them. "He's been doing nothing but dodging and hiding!"

As he said this, Dennis had this time managed to stand behind Gongenzaka's back for a full minute before the latter noticed it, just to disappear again.

Tsukikage refused to say anything or even nod in compromise, but if even by watching this he felt annoyed, he could do nothing but admire Gongenzaka's fortitude and patience.

The best attack is defense; that was Gongenzaka's motto. He and his brother training with Gongenzaka was supposed to aid him with sneaky attacks and opponents, but what was he to do with an opponent who not only refused to openly attack, but one he couldn't even touch?

He had no choice...

There were some echoes and gasps after the whirring sound, and Tsukikage knew why. Gongenzaka's weapon – Amice Fortis – was now unfolded and this was the first time for even his Beacon classmates to see it like this.

Much less in a clash with another weapon, particularly the staff Dennis managed to change in sizes, elasticity and the like which on top of it, looked like a magic wand.

"It matters not," Mieru said to his other side. "Not anymore," she finished, falling back into her seat and apparently losing interest in the fight.

There were no surprises left for her, it appeared.

.

.

.

"Told you," Dennis said in the best sing-song voice he could muster, and quite honestly had been saving only to see his opponent's face.

It was worth it when Gongenzaka looked at the clock – blinking a bright 11:55 – and his face morphed first into shock and then into anger.

Truly worth it.

Now he could stop playing around.

After he saw the full width of the scissor blade, he had to admit he was impressed, but he knew now for a fact that for him to be able to swing it around, it couldn't be all that heavy.

When he stopped a slash above him, he felt his arms ache and his ears whir. Of course, it didn't mean that his opponent's pure strength wasn't enough to compensate for the actual weight.

The next few seconds flew in a blur of slashes and blocks.

Every single one of his blocks no matter how quick he made them, Gongenzaka blocked, even one he aimed at his weak spot – his left middle side –

And the few times he did manage to get him to attack him, Dennis barely made it out without some permanent damage, he would have to get maintenance after this.

Still he watched his feet closely, they stayed steady for shorter spans now, and he looked tired.

It wouldn’t take much longer

Time slowed once more as a slice from the enormous blade went dangerously close to his temple, at the same time that his staff barely missed an opening.

He retreated a few steps and jumped.

Gongenzaka seemed to see through his scheme and attacked his back, only for Dennis to jump again and land on top of the blade.

The effect was immediate. His added weight unbalanced Gongenzaka one last time, and along with his shock, he failed to see Dennis coming at him.

His staff hit right in between his ribs and his stomach, making him falter and as a coup de grace, Dennis kicked the weapon out of his reach.

"Match is over! Dennis Macfield from Atlas Academy wins!" Glynda announced.

And at the roar given by their audience, Dennis allowed himself to be showered in cheers, swoon, and felt drunk with it. This was truly worth it all.

"I hope that this was an enlightening match for you, Mr. Gongenzaka." He heard behind him as he bowed repeatedly to his teacher.

"Don't be so hard on him, Miss Goodwitch!" he said, nearing them. "He gave me a run for my money too, in no small part thanks to his combat teacher." A little lie never hurt anybody, he thought. Or so he did, until she regarded him with the same cold stare she admonished Gongenzaka with.

"Don't let this win get to your head. Mr. Macfield, and I should've thought that the General would have taught you this, but flattery will get you nowhere," she spoke, adjusting her glasses, and turning to give her back to him. "The second match is over. Do we have any volunteers for the third one?"

There were many lifted hands and people filling Glynda's scroll with requests, but she didn't check any of them as she scanned the crowd, until her sight stopped on a far point on the benches.

"I want to fight," a voice came from that place. It sounded feminine and her clothes looked lightly-colored and thick; probably someone from Vacuo,

"Very well, you seem appropriate. Let's see if we can find you an opponent," said Glynda nodding.

As he prepared to leave the arena, the voice spoke one more time.

"I apologize, Professor, but I meant that I want to fight him," she said. "Is this not a tournament of sorts? I want to try myself against the winner of the last match." The voice was starting to stir something in Dennis' mind, but he wasn't sure he knew what.

There was a large portion of his life that lay muddled and mashed together into a whirlwind of light and colors.

"And I apologize, but Mr. Macfield already had his match for today. You'll have to choose another opponent."

There was silence after she said this, before another figure cladded in red rose from her seat.

"If she wants to challenge my team leader, then I have no trouble taking the challenge for myself," Serena spoke clearly and echoing in the arena.

From this distance, he could only make out her clothes and hair, along with the blue glint from her bracelet…

 _'Bracelet… Shade… Vacuo…'_ His eyes caught a golden glint coming from the Shade girl.

No, it couldn't be…

"I see... Miss Serena from Atlas Academy against Miss Ruri Kurosaki from Shade Academy." muttered Glynda and Dennis' hand acted up before Glynda could announce the match on the screen.

Holding onto her shoulder.

"As much as it fills my heart with pride to see my teammate speaking for her leader, I cannot let such things happen, Professor. Allow me to take on the challenge myself."

Even from this distance, he could tell that Serena wanted to object and he mouthed the word 'Don't' before she could.

Glynda watched him closely before sighing and conceding, the screen showing his and …her picture profiles.

It was eerie to be aware of hers and Serena's similarities but still not looking alike in the slightest and even more because she didn't look any different from what he remembered.

"I was mistaken. You really are James' student," he heard her whisper before she cleared her throat and addressed him. "I'm only allowing this because your Aura level did not drop below half, but you'll go to the lockers for a fifteen minute break before the match… That should be enough."

Dennis walked as steady as he could. When he was out of sight, he hurried to the bathroom stalls.

He could already hear the steps and laughter behind him. He leaned against the wall, trying to focus on his breathing.

He could do this.

"Your fifteen minutes are up," someone said from the bathroom entrance. No, not just someone. "The Professor sent me." Bad choice of words, because for a minute he thought – wished? – it was Serena, making him turn quickly on his heels.

But no, of course it had to be her.

"Hi Ruri… long time no see."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... I hope this wasn't too much of a long wait ^^'
> 
> This episode is full of situations just waiting to blow on people's face, let's all see which one does first and which will be spared... for now.
> 
> Thank you AnimeGirl 144 for your infinite patience :DDD


	7. 6.- Insurgence (Stage Three)

_'Long time no see?'_

That was the best he had to offer after the last time they saw each other? No apologies, not even a flimsy explanation. Nothing but that stupid lopsided smile that he always used to get away from trouble.... Ruri forced herself to take deep breaths and rooted herself in place; otherwise, she might end the match before it actually started if she got any closer to him.

"I suppose that is one way of putting it..." she said, tearing her eyes away from him, her finger drumming the side of her leg.

"You look... well. You've gained back some weight. That's... good," he commented, and she noticed now that he still had to turn away from the mirror and how his hands were gripping the sink tightly enough to make his visible knuckles look white.

And if Ruri was a better person, she might leave the matter as it was, show him just how 'good' she was getting in the arena, except...

"So do you..." she started. "...It seems things have been looking up for you too." Ruri almost bit her own tongue off when forcing herself to say those words. "All patched back up, an Atlas student, made team leader no less, and now you'll even participate in the Vytal Festival? What an _impressive_ turn of events..."

"I'll say-" he attempted, but Ruri made him eat his words – literally.

"... For a _street rat_ , that is. I hate to put it like that, but I never pegged you for someone who would stake his reputation for a so-called teammate, let alone risk their lives for the sake of the general populace." …Although if he was looking to become like one of those Specialists – sucking up to the Atlas Kingdom while still enjoying the free range given to hunters – then it was perfectly in character for him…

"..." He had finally turned around to see her, but his expression betrayed nothing of what he may be thinking. It only pissed her off even more.

"I wonder if they know. Your teammates, I mean. I expect the General to be smart enough to make a simple background check on each one of his applicants, but what about them? What would they think of their lead-"

" _They_ are not concerned by things of the past," interrupted a new voice, and Ruri had to look down to see a mass of blue hair standing on the other side of the door. He wasn't even looking at her or at Dennis. He seemed way too preoccupied by the chocolate he was munching on. "Professor Glynda sent me to get you. She said that if you take more time, she'll look for new volunteers," he warned them, looking completely nonchalant with his arms behind his head.

"R-right! Thank you, Sora!" Dennis said, laughing a nervous gulp down. "I'll be right there in a minute," he informed him, slipping in between them and disappearing from her sight.

"If I were you, I'd try to keep a cool head," said the kid, smiling at her with a smug air before leaving her alone with gritted teeth, chest swelling up with the drowning feeling she was becoming accustomed to. She tightened her hands into fists.

Aching to lash out.

∞

"Do you remember all of it?" Reiji asked her the moment he finished taking the files he needed from the server. "Routes? Names? Dates? Passwords?"

"Don't worry, you don't get to master basic swordsmanship in record time without a good memory, muscle or otherwise," she assured him, taking the scroll she was offering him. "I mean, sure my semblance helps a lot, but don't tell Gongenzaka, or he'll call me a cheater…" Yuzu said with a small laugh, trying to lighten up the situation with what they were about to do.

"Semblance is a skill, I can't see how using it to your advantage would be considered cheating," he said, looking slightly puzzled and Yuzu just stared at him. Sometimes it was too easy to forget he came from a different place than them. "Am I mistaken?"

"No!... I don't think like that, neither does Gongenzaka, it was a joke. It's just little things like, there are people who think semblance usage for anything not strictly combat-wise is like cheating and I can see where they come from… most of the times… but sometimes it's…"

"Stifling?" he offered and Yuzu just nodded; _‘Ridiculous’_ was what she had meant to say, after it was as he said, semblance was still a skill, something you had to work hard in order to master it, there should be no shame in using it as long as other get hurt of course… and he looked like he wanted to ask more about it, but she just shook her head.

They had to hurry.

"Here," she said, handing him her scroll which he eyed with interest before plugging it to the port.

She, on the other hand, clicked on the root processer and got down to business on the numbers, commands and barriers, feeling already her brow sweat both of nerves and excitement – Who would have thought? As she surfed through the server files, a bright red warning flashed on the screen, and Yuzu couldn't help but smile at it.

They were in.

Right on cue to the nod, she saw him connect her scroll into the data service.

∞

Being locked inside some cabinet with two boys was not exactly how she had envisioned this 'field report' would end up as.

Carly was ready to admit that she had not exactly thought ahead for this little excursion. She had only been thinking of her goal once the boss finally gave an actual journalism task for a change – because filling in for Lisa most definitely did not count – and now she was reaping the results.

_'Calm down, calm down… Nothing is lost yet. Just look on the bright side!'_ Of course! How had she not thought about it? When she first found them, she had only thought about playing along and after they had busted her bluff in return they had stood in silence for the longest minute of her life and then she was pushed along with the taller boy into their current hiding site, joined by the other one making signs for them to keep quiet.

True to the shorter boy's instincts, there had been a whole group of hospital workers rushing into a nearby room.

Like her they were also intruders, but from what? While – thanks to the dark room – she still had a hard time taking them in fully, they looked too young to be journalists and the shorter boy spoke in a different dialect and had a slight accent which right now she had a hard time placing.

"Ugh, I hope you're happy!"

"Me? You're the one who keeps yelling! If it wasn't for me, we would have been caught back on the roof!"

"Ha! Who's yelling now!?"

"Both of you are!" she yelled and covered her mouth almost immediately. It was just her luck that had her realize that the hospital workers were just outside their hiding spot. If they needed something from this room, they would be so screwed and she was nowhere near high enough in the chain of command at the Vale Network for them to back her up...

"What's the matter?" a feminine voice said right outside.

"I thought I heard something..." another masculine one answered.

"Ugh, those protesters. They're so loud that even the soundproof walls aren't enough. It's giving me a headache."

"I hope it's not bothering the patients; this is the last thing they or anyone needs..."

When the echoes of their conversation and steps finally died out, they took a deep breath, and Carly tried to adjust her eyes to the dark cabinet – who makes a closet with no windows? –but she could barely make out their shadows.

"Hey, I think I found the switch," one of the boys said in a thankfully low voice, and before she could ask, she was briefly blinded by the bright bluish light of hospitals she hated so much.

Afterwards she finally looked at the boys... and she had to suppress a whelp of surprise when she not only recognized the son of the Sawatari Representative now candidate for a seat on the Council, and yet another one when she noticed the furry tail of the other one moving a little too close for her comfort.

"What's the next step now?" the faunus asked.

"Are you serious? Do you think we can still follow the plan after this mess? It's been more than an hour already and we're still on the top floor, nowhere near where the hospital records are supposed to be kept. We have almost been busted twice and now have a hostage. What part of this sounds like it went according to the plan?"

Hostage? Why in the world where they talking about her like that? And as if she wasn't standing right there in the same room as them, no less! She was a 100% responsible adult with a job, rent and bills to pay, while she would be surprised if either of them had ever had a job in their lives – and she knew for a fact that the Sawatari brat didn't –  She coughed a little to call their attention.

Only to be ignored as they started to argue again.

"This is all your fault."

"Wow, wow, don't you even dare when you're the one who's done nothing."

"Wa- how- you weren't even supposed to tag along, you little _stray_."

"What did you call me?!"

When Carly saw that they were both grabbing at each other's neck and ready to punch the other, her arms flailed around for a little while before deciding she she had had enough of this. She rolled up her sleeves and rushed forward, grabbing them by the neck of their shirts - which thanks to their banter were exposed - and dragged them upward so they were at eye level with her.

"Now, both of you listen to me now! If you think for one second that I'm gonna let two brats ruin the (possibly, maybe, hopefully) best scoop of my career, you are dead wrong." Carly had not even been aware that she had been shaking them until she focused her eyes - and glasses - on their disheveled hair. She stopped but then she resumed the manhandling letting out part of her frustration on it. "Have I made myself clear?"

She allowed herself to feel a little proud when they both emitted a whimper and looked like they were about to throw up. She stopped and they nodded their consent. With matters taken care of, she let them go.

"Scoop? Are you like a reporter or something?" asked the Sawatari boy.

"Really? That's so cool!" the faunus boy said, getting up in a skip. "Have you ever been in jail? Or gotten into some scandal?"

Carly just blinked and stared at his starry-looking eyes, trying to process what she just heard.

"Um, Yugo? I don't think 'reporter' means what you think it means…"

"Yeah! We're not criminals or anything. I'm just trying to finish my job," she agreed.

"Uh?" He – Yugo – scrunched his nose and Carly mentally slapped herself because her mind went immediately to a cat. "But… aren't you sneaking into a hospital, attempting to pass as part of its personnel? Now I'm not sure if you know the meaning of 'breaking and entering' or 'impersonation,' but you're doing both."

And when those words were spoken, she felt like someone had kicked the air out of her lungs. Suddenly, all the possible consequences of this little adventure danced before her eyes…

"Well, when you put it like that…"

"NO!!" She yelled before she could help it and all three of them fell silent to see if someone had heard her. There were some steps heard in the distance, but none seemed to be coming near... It appeared they were safe… for now. She allowed herself a sigh of relief and looked at them again, more like behind them.

There were a couple of coats and a folded stretcher.

"Fine, me being here might be a little out of place…"

"Uh, I'm pretty sure it's a felony," interrupted the Sawatari boy.

"…Yes, but we are all stuck here unless we make a plan, right?" Carly had started to pace around in front of them, only to stop when she heard a tsk directed at her words. She spun around to see the Sawatari brat shaking his head and smirking at her.

"Excuse me, we already have a plan of our own and we don't need more complications added to it-"

He stopped talking when the flash of her camera blinded him briefly.

"No, but I'm sure people will love to read about Shingo Sawatari's little escapade during an emergency aftermath and breaking a curfew at Beacon, no less," she said, holding the screen of her camera so he could see the file uploading to her scroll drive.

'Gotcha,' she thought, aware of the cheeky grin on her face.

"Oh! She got you there," Yugo said, who had been looking in between them until now, while Sawatari grumbled. "Come on, we're already in a jam. What's the worst that could happen now?" he questioned, getting from the floor and dusting his knees.

Carly could actually think of way too many things that could go wrong, and a surprising number of them ended with her serving at least some jail time or community service, along with her losing her job, her livelihood and in turn her home.

But looking at both of the boys in front of her right now, one sulking and the other smiling, it struck her that they were students, kids, – and she could swear the faunus boy still had some baby fat on his face – and how much they failed to see the big picture, even at a moment like this.

"Besides, I already have a plan to get us out of here," she mentioned after a little while, and forced herself to square down her posture and take control. She had to.

∞

Despite what Hokuto would like to believe about himself, he knew he was a gossipy hen. He never saw it as a huge deal, and so far nothing he heard had been worthy of a scandal or anything of the sort. Just some embarrassing stuff, dirty secrets and general information among his peers and before now he had very little shame in admitting it.

"I'm going kill him," the girl had muttered the moment Dennis had won his match against Gongenzaka, which in itself shouldn't have been a big deal. He himself had said the same to Yaiba for the many times he had been woken up way too early by his alarm clock or when Sawatari failed to clear their dorm of his clothes every morning.

But the way she had said it had given him the chills, the same chills he had gotten when he fought those crazy twins at the club months ago; the moment he realized they were going for the kill.

Was he supposed to do something in these cases? – Damn, she already got up – It's not like Professor Glynda will let this get out of hand right? – Oh great, she called Glynda's attention. – Besides wasn't this against the rules? That Atlas guy had just won, someone else had to fight this chick, right? – Shit, now he accepted. Does he have a death wish? – What was he supposed to do now?

Would anything he did accomplish anything? He thought now that they were both on opposite sides of the ring.

The look on his teammates, his friends, particularly Masumi flashed the moment the bell rang, but it didn't matter how lowly they thought about his indecisiveness, because he hated that part of him more than anyone else.

.

.

.

"Perfect, now that our _volunteers_ are here, we can start!" the Professor's voice called, presenting the screen and Ruri felt herself frowning at the picture they had of her: She saw herself smiling, her hair still lustrous and looked after. It was an old photo.

"Over here we have Ruri Kurosaki from Shade Academy!"

But it was nothing compared to seeing the picture of herself compared next to Dennis', all smiles and sunshine, his skin had a healthy undertone to it and he even looked a little taller.

"And as you all know already, going against Dennis Macfield from Atlas Academy!" the blonde woman announced, and he bowed to the cheers of the people, sending a flower to them. How she wanted to set it on fire.

She would enjoy wiping that smile off his face.

His feet were tense and he was looking right past her position, meaning that he was already planning to do the same trick as the past fight.

Always such a coward.

_'4, 3, 2, 1,'_ she counted the seconds for the bell to ring, her claws ready to attack and the moment her feathers reacted to the loud noise, she moved exactly one step to be on his escape route.

Dennis almost crashed against her and he stumbled long enough for her to take the first attack, her hand slashing against his Aura right on his chest.

The force of her attack made a red glowing denture on it, thanks to the burning dust inside her sharp clawed hands.

The speed to which his Aura rushed to heal the denture made her smile. This would only be the first cut of many; one for each of his slights.

.

.

.

"How is she doing?" the newcomer asked, sitting next to the bat faunus from before. Hokuto took notice of his voice sounded deep, harsh and bottom line: someone it was better not to piss off.

"She's… better… At least I hope," the bat answered, crossing his arms. "I'm still not sure how this is supposed to help though."

_This_ , of course, was the perfect way to describe the way this chick was pretty much assaulting Dennis at every turn of the arena, steadily depleting his Aura with every turn. Hokuto almost winced when he watched, on one of the screens, how one of her claws slashed right into his face.

Just looking at it, he had almost expected to see Dennis' face scarred or his eye bleeding, but he looked normal after recovering from the hit.

"Are you implying that she was better off being a sickly little bird? Too afraid to leave her cage?" the blond one asked after a small chuckle left him at the previous sight.

The bat – Ute or something like that – only stared at him with a pout and looked back at the arena.

Right on time to see a blue flame on each hand of the 'little birdie'.

.

.

.

It took everything Dennis had not to run away from the sight of those fiery eyes, looking so beautifully threatening thanks to the bluish tint of her fire coming out from her hands.

_He could hardly make anything in the middle of this disaster, with his feet frozen in place while he coughed some blood._

**_'Dennis!!'_ ** _The roar accompanied by his name was the only warning he got before blinding pain spread through his body…_

Almost on instinct his hand went to grab his left arm, and he blinked several times, because it was still daytime and there most certainly was no wind picking up or a sand storm blinding his sight.

He gulped down all the fear he could in one second, just in time to dodge her burning fists.

There was always the choice of touching her, now that her powers were on display… but he did not trust himself to be able to handle it, specially with so little Aura left and it wouldn't serve any purpose.

For now, at least, he thought allowing a flaming fist to his gut to burn what was left of his Aura.

He collapsed right at her feet. Before the black shadows at the edges of his eyes consumed his vision, he allowed himself to appraise her.

Hateful eyes melted into purple thanks to the blue hues creeping into her features, and in her hands she held a crystalline blade, which she probably itched to plunge into his being, one meant only for him.

There was a strange peace that filled him at the thought of it. But he knew no more than the horrified gasps before blacking out.

.

.

.

Glynda was not having the best of days, but to be fair, no one in Vale was probably having a good day either.

And until this moment, she had not thought it could have gotten any worse.

The match should have stopped the moment she saw Dennis' Aura levels to drop below 10%, but she had been unable to move her body or to get the words past her lips. Instead, she had joined her students awed horror as Ruri continued to attack with killing intent, producing a blade from within her person and ready to attack one last time…

Unlike her students, however, she had been forced to it, her limbs frozen in spot even as her mind screamed at them to move and stop the match.

It was like being chained in place, and when the hold on her was lifted, she had to stomp down her boot to not drop on the floor, overwhelmed by the sensation of her body once more, her brow breaking into cold sweat.

Both from the effort and anger.

The moment her body listened to her again, she willed the bell to ring the end of the match, pulling everyone from the haze of the battle, including the combatants – noticing Ruri hid the blade into her red cloth – and discretely scrutinized the whole place, knowing that the person behind the phenomenon had to be somewhere close… and she squashed down the shame at the bottom of her belly at not noticing the figure sitting on the top benches of the arena, not even bothering to hide.

Unlike all the other people in the room, Jean-Michel Roger was smiling all too pleasantly from the spectacle.

∞

"I'm gonna be blunt here, since we don't have much time but… we need more manpower," he said after looking at the huge dude sitting right in front of him – at least eight feet and twice his width. Roman tried to wrack his head, trying to remember if he had seen this faunus in particular.

But he supposed someone this high in command didn't prance around in public too often.

"No," he simply said. No explanations or anything… wonderful.

"Do I need to remind you that we are tight on tim-"

"And do we need to remind you that your boss has yet to deliver on their word?" Roman narrowed his eyes at this, and he exhaled some smoke before replying.

"To be fair, that wasn't my fault. If those meddling brats had not been there, you know _meddling_ , you and your… people would have had your side of the deal as we speak…"

"Are you seriously attempting to pin your failure on a bunch of children?" he growled in a low tone. "You will not use more of my kin until we are properly compensated for our bother."

He had to stop his frown to fully form at the word 'failure', as if they knew anything…

"Hey now!" he objected, instead raising his hands in defeat and playing with the cigar on his mouth before adding: "Blame my leading skills all you want, but as I was busy fighting off the police and a professional hunter, weren't you and your men being handled by that bunch of children?"

"…You know perfectly well what happened that night," he replied through gritted teeth, flexing his muscles.

"Right, right. We were short staffed among other issues… but be as it may… It seems to me we are not the only ones not delivering our side of the deal," he countered, trying not to sound too smug. The huge guy still had the numbers on his side, after all.

"If we get you the people needed, then you-"

"Yes, yes. I will give you the _traitors_ on a silver platter. You have my word," he said, getting up and putting his hand on his chest. The giggle almost made it out of his mouth along with the words.

"Your word is not worth shit, Roman," he drawled, his fist balled on top of his knee.

"Is anything in the human-ruled world worth shit?" he countered, all too happy to point at himself at the last word. After their silence, he felt generous and asked, "Can I offer you a drink for the trouble?" He pointed at the bar. "The tab is on me, of course."

Roman didn't wait for their answers and walked to the bar without prompting, only to find that Gallagher was out on his break. Great. These animals may not need a drink, but he was definitely in the mood for one.

His attention was drawn to a couple; he was not sure it they were a 'couple,' considering they seemed to share an awful fashion sense, but he had no reservations about any of it other than the need to burn down their ridiculous outfits, of course.

"Having fun?" he asked, aching for some civilized if awfully dressed people, without looking directly at them. The only thing his sight caught was a mop of red and green and a blue hue hanging from his neck that make his hands itch, but by the looks of it, it wasn't genuine jewelry so his hand relaxed again.

"Uh?" he said, almost stumbling on his words. "Yeah… sure. This is the best!" Roman had to stifle a laugh at his ridiculously fake deep voice.

"And your friend?" he asked, finally turning to look at them, since the other one was too short to notice from the corner of his eyes. Unlike him, he was actually holding a fruity-looking drink and barely nodding in response to his question, his head bumping up and down with the beat of the music.

That's when it hit him: their demure behavior, the way they kept trying to hide their faces, with their hair and the outdated clothes pulled out from their parents' closet probably, or the ridiculous attempt at sounding older…

It was that moment that Gallagher decided to come into his place and he took but one look at the boys and whistled with a grin on his face.

"Aren't you supposed to be at school?" he asked, scratching his chin and finally giving into laughter when the shortie spat his drink and the tomato-haired one practically jumped from his seat.

"What?! What school? I'm not-" The other one shushed him with some colorful thread dribbling down his chin. Gallagher shook his head, clearly accustomed to this, but Roman had to grasp the counter when he felt his belly twitch and another fit of laughter came out of him.

"Relax, I assure you that if I were to report you to the police, they'd be far more concerned with putting him in jail," Gallagher said in between giggles at their fearful looks. "A couple of prep school runaways in a bar are way below their list of priorities, especially now."

"Prep school?" the short one asked, his eyebrow arched along with the question, while the other dropped his shoulders in what looked like defeat… no, not defeat, it was relief.

How curious.

"Oh, come on, don't feel too disappointed. The first time is always like that, and your grandpa's clothes don't do shit to make you look older, not with those huge eyes full of dreams and hopes," he said, blowing some more smoke before continuing. "A tip for next time: don't try too hard, especially with the clothes. Also, a bit of make-up always does wonders for the eyes."

They just nodded and motioned to stand and probably leave since one of them pulled out some liens. Roman pulled out one of his stolen cards and passed it to Gallagher.

"Let me pay for it, boys," he started and nodded to Gallagher to leave after passing the card. "I feel generous today."

"R-right, thank you," both said at the same time and turned around for the exit. Too bad that he still had something else to say.

"By the way… another thing worth remembering is not assuming that all grownups are gullible fools," he advised them before snapping his fingers.

In no time, the boys were surrounded by the group of animals the commander had brought, and they both turned to look at him with those huge, innocent-looking eyes; really like two little sheep going into the lion's den…

"Is this a good start?" he asked to the big guy who was eyeing up the kids, particularly to the one wearing leather.

"Yes, this will do… for now," he answered, cracking his neck on both sides and then his knuckles. Roman felt a little too delighted to see the terror in their faces.

"You bastar-" the little one started and Roman walked to both of them, his Cudgel in hand, pointing at the kid's chest.

"Tsk, tsk, language. Didn't your parents teach you about that?" he asked and looked at the other one, currently scanning the room for an exit. "How about you? I would have thought so… after all, isn't Yusho Sakaki the quintessential gentleman?"

The disbelieving look on his face was priceless and Roman had to stifle yet another laugh before hooking the kid's chin with his fingers, forcing him to look up.

"Now don't look so surprised," he started, lighting another cigarette. "You took me and my colleagues for fools after all… Take this as another lesson, a practical one, _Yuya Sakaki_."

"How…How did you know?" he asked, his hand sneaking to his waist holder, where a blue and green glint caught his eyes, thus he knew the boy wasn’t looking for an actual answer.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Don't you wish to know why your father was targeted? Isn't that why you came all the way down here from Beacon?" he questioned, and the kid's hand froze in place. Roman finally put distance between them.

Still watchful though, a bunch of kids they might be, but ones who managed to bypass Atlas Specialist stationed in Beacon? Now that was something he was interested in hearing.

∞

"I trust everyone here has already seen the Council's 'answer' to the recent tragedy happening in Vale…" The person now on stage spoke, once people seemed to have calmed down at the sight of so many weapons in one place.

A wayward bullet could be enough to consume this place in fire.

"I want you to take a moment to consider this: The White Fang took no lives during the Velaris Hall incident. We have no intention to add more bodies to the count in order to spread fear. There are no casualties from either side, other than the building itself, that is. As one of the hallmarks of Vale, I do not think it is an exaggeration to say that many of you must hold beloved memories happening inside its walls… but it's just that: a building. A building made into a symbol, yes, but a building nonetheless. One which destruction forced the Council to make an open statement for the first time in decades…" Rin had yet to see the so-called message, but she could only imagine what some old coots with little to no touch with reality had to say about anything.

She had a bet on what would happen first: Them going senile and finally stepping down before someone put a bullet through their foreheads or kicking the bucket while on service, it was something she and Crow often joked about. She personally had her money on the second one, if the first part of the first had not happened already.

"There have been talks about using Atlas military forces to protect the city in order to avoid more mishaps to happen. There have been talks about possibly canceling the Vytal Festival! Something that even our ancestors during the Faunus Revolution didn't consider to do!" Now that called Rin's attention. She knew Atlas Academy had brought its entourage to Beacon - because nothing is too good for them – but to cover Vale City entirely? This could be a huge problem for them.

Masumi seemed to think the same, for she felt the grip she had on her shoulder tighten significantly and she had to inwardly giggle at this. A natural predator seeking comfort on its natural prey? That was a sight to behold.

All things considering, Masumi would find it anything but funny.

"And yet, the Disappearance of Heartland continues to be a mystery, other than a half-hearted compromise to delay the Tournament. To allow for mourning, they said. To move the resources, they claimed! … To send help, they continuously assured, over and over and yet the disappearance of the entire population of the biggest Faunus settlement continues to be unanswered. Buildings can be rebuilt, better and more resilient… In the meantime, lives which we don't know if they still exist are less important than some hall made of rocks and concrete. I want you to consider that…"

Rin didn't know more about Heartland, no more than any human or person not from Vacuo. But she knew that not many people knew a lot about Mistral's inner politics either, so she supposed that was normal. Besides, she still remembered the months in Mistral prior to and after the news got out and the protests born from it… She was not sure how this made her sound – she still had not dared to tell a soul, not even Yugo or Crow – but if it hadn't been for the Disappearance… then she wouldn't be standing here right now.

The life of a Faunus wasn't all that glamorous as Mistral liked to paint itself to Remnant.

"The Council, the government, the Special Forces and the police, even the Academies, have been the main players in making you believe this lie: the one that says that your lives are worth any less than those of a human. That it is worth nothing in the face of Grimm's threats. That this mockery of peace as they call it is worth your suffering… that it's worth less than a pretty hall."

There was a heavy silence after that, and Rin wasn't unaffected – nor was Masumi… she would have to check for marks later – because there it was: the feeling of being an outsider, a freak, a nameless face, less than a person, put into words.

And there was no one in the room whose words didn't resonate with them.

"We have tried over and over to call these matters to attention in the past, which went ignored and they paid the price accordingly when the peaceful protests of the Faunus all over Remnant made the entire system and economy in each of the Kingdoms collapse for the span of just two years. It was the eve of the 22th Vytal Festival when they went into self-imposed exhile from the cities, concentrating and making small communities within themselves… a movement that they tried to smother to death when they attempted to…"

There was a pause of his words, along with the gasps made by everyone around, including Rin herself.

"…My apologies, I will not be giving you a history lesson on the Battle of Fort or the Revolution it spawned afterwards. Everyone here knows exactly what I'm talking about…" Rin looked sideways to Masumi when her grip had finally loosened up a little. "…And I will not attempt to milk the bloody history in which the White Fang Movement was born.

"I'm offering you all the chance to stop living under the thumb of useless human-rule. The opportunity to make a difference and step out from a forced anonymity into a voluntary self-exile, but…" He stopped once again and the doors of the warehouse were opened on both sides of the place.

The guards were still stationed in place, but none of them had their weapons pointed at the audience, nor did they look like they would try to stop anyone.

"…If what I've told you today has scared you, if you feel content with your lives as they are now, or at the very least consider this a lost cause, then leave and know that I will not stop you and that you shall always be welcome among our ranks if you change your mind."

To Rin's surprise there was a sizeable amount of people who started to discuss among them. A small group fled them the moment the man stopped talking, and another much bigger amount that stood rooted in place without ever bothering to look at the exits.

After some more words exchanged, from which she only caught a few – most of them about having families whom they couldn't risk, unwillingness to stir anything that may attract the ancient Grimms and the like – there were a couple dozens more leaving. The rest stood there, tense as bricks until the ram man and his companions left the stage and some of the younger White Fang members started to bring up some refreshments and snacks.

Right on cue, the place returned to the previous state it had been in before the conference started and small groups started to form again, sharing some more stories. A handful of guards started to stroll in between them and pointed at a couple of the occupants, signaling them to go to the back.

It had started, and before Rin could warn Masumi to keep it cool, a guard was in front of them, scrutinizing them and simply said:

"You." He gestured at Rin. "Come with me. You, stay put," he ordered without sparing a look to Masumi and turning, assuming that they would do as ordered. Even if Masumi's panicked whimper hadn’t escaped her, she wouldn't have obeyed.

"No," she retorted and the guard froze in place. "She comes with me." Masumi froze next to her, unable to keep the soda she was holding in her hand. The guard turned around and gave a deep sniff into the air.

"She-"

"Yes, I know she _smells_ , but she's here and she has not left. Isn't that proof enough?" Rin countered, making an impatient gesture. The more relaxed the better. Now if she could only make Masumi understand that much.

"This type of thing can only be decided by the boss," the guard spoke, fidgeting under her stare. "And I don't think he will be pleased if I interrupt him now."

"In that case, tell him she's a _wolf_ from the Koutsu bloodline and that we request an audience from him."

For once, she had to give Masumi some credit as she didn't gasp or protest, nor make a sound whatsoever… then maybe she was still processing what she said. On the other hand, Rin felt like sweat dropping when the guard only shrugged at the name drop she made, completely ruining the dramatic effect she was going for. He was probably young and had no idea of what – or who – she was talking about.

But he gave in once he noticed and heard the mutters of the other people were giving to them now.

"Fine, but I can't promise anything," he grumbled, but Rin did not care. He may not be able to promise anything, but she could guarantee that _something_ would happen the moment he spoke that name.

What would happen though, she couldn't say, but she was looking forward to it.

∞

"It is done," he stated and he disconnected from the server, his eyesight a little sore from having to force his sight in broad daylight, but it had paid off.

He looked at Yuzu, who was also rubbing her eyes. Not a surprise, since she was unaccustomed to this. What did surprise him, however, was - before she turned off his scroll and smashed it in her hand like he had instructed her - how far into the net she had been surfing on, the data files she had collected and sifted through in such little time and to the extent she had been avoiding the firewalls and the anti-phishing AI's.

She had greatly under evaluated her own fast learning skills.

"So… what now?" she asked, stretching up a little bit, and looking at the time. "There's still like half an hour left until the meet up time…" she said while he handed her back her scroll. She looked at it with a raised eyebrow, asking if she should destroy it too, but he shook his head.

It would not be wise to deprive themselves of the only direct and safe communication device they had left, and for the first time, they both noticed the amount of people that started to gather nearby.

"Where are all these people going?" she asked, looking back at a place not too far from them in the park. Reiji looked in the direction she was pointing and had to refrain himself from recoiling at the sight of not just the Atlesian Knights, but of the person in the middle on a podium, wearing all white, his medals shining in the light and standing with his shoulders wide, his back upright and hands locked behind him.

General Ironwood.

"It's an official announcement from both the Atlesian Military and Vale's City Council," a voice said behind them. Reiji didn't recognize it, either the voice or the shape of the shadow towering over Yuzu.

What he did recognize, though, was the pristine white Specialist Atlas uniform he wore, a quick glance at his chest made him realized he was a high-ranked one too. Yuzu must have noticed his shifting mood because she tensed as well and narrowed her eyes at him.

Then she turned, bowed and smiled at him.

"What can I do to help you, officer?" she asked, hiding her distaste in a blink and giving a courteous bow.

He seemed unimpressed by the politeness, however, and simple raked at her, Reiji noticed feeling his brow furrow when he noticed his eyes remained on her face for a little longer than pleasantries required.

"Show me your ID, please. Since I can tell both of you are carrying dangerous weapons in the middle of a civilian area, I need you to show me that you have permission for them."

"I would love too!" she said, almost making a pull for her wallet, but she stopped and put her finger to her lips, as if deep in thought. "But, can I see your Vale designated permission to exercise authority on a foreign land, please?" she requested, dropping her hand again, her smile turning into a light smirk.

"Hunters don't require permission to-"

"Oh! But you see, what I'm seeing here is not a hunter but a soldier from the Atlas army who indubitably pledged service to the Atlas kingdom, and a great service for such a number of medals and colors earned, but… we are not in Atlas, are we?" she continued, crossing her arms.

And to this the man did grimace and Reiji noticed he bit his lips and balled his fists at the side of his body. As for Reiji? He was still registered as an Atlas citizen until his graduation; he could do nothing in front of this man.

But right now, he was below his radar thanks to Yuzu and he could not force her to do anything as native of Vale.

"Since the 22th Vytal Festival, Atlas has been in charge of security in order to avoid-" he started, but Yuzu held up her hand once more.

"I'm aware of the Festival's regulations, but the Festival has yet to begin, right? Until then, you are a foreign officer and your authority over Vale's citizens is limited to Red coded threats," she finished with a self-assured nod of her head.

The officer – which only now Reiji noticed was incredibly young for such a high rank – was left speechless for a good whole minute.

And then, he smiled and a little chuckle accompanied it. His shoulders squared and he turned to see a couple of airships, not those meant for passengers, but for cargo, land behind the General.

"Ah but you see…" He waited to see Yuzu drop her arms and for her to exchange looks with Reiji, and pulled out his scroll, "Miss Yuzu Hiragi and Reiji Akaba… I believe you will find General Ironwood's announcement very interesting then."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! Finally new chqapter is up thanks to the hard work of AnimeGirl 144 (Thank you!)
> 
> Things are getting heated up, people are getting (maybe?) maimed and others are just chilling out... for now that is :P
> 
> I hope that the wait was worth it.


	8. 7.- Mayday! (Stage Four)

The heavy steps of the Atlesian Knights as they assembled on the stage resounded with a sense of finality that Reiji had not felt in some time; after they had been 'invited' by the Commander Phoenix to approach the place in order to listen better, neither he or Yuzu were inclined to move, but he was also unwilling to be spotted by the General in the middle of the city.

Right now, they had no other choices.

"Greetings." The voice of the General reached them. "Whereas I have no doubt that the Atlesian Knights here do not need an introduction, allow me to get past the obliged pleasantries and say that my name is Ironwood, James Ironwood. Most of you know or have heard of me as the Headmaster of Atlas Academy…" He allowed that to sink in with his growing audience.

Reiji saw some of them nod in understanding, some just shrugged, clearly too occupied with their everyday lives to know anything about Hunter Academies beyond the basics. Others shot unnerved looks to the Atlesian Knights behind him, unaccustomed to such a sight, unlike the citizens from Atlas.

"…As such, I've dedicated the last couple of decades of my life to the protection of my people, working hard to keep any _outside_ threats at bay… but I'm also a General, and as such I cannot disregard the threats present inside the walls too…" When he finally said this, he stopped in the middle of the stage and scoured everyone in the audience.

For a full minute, Reiji considered plunging and leaving to find the others. And although he believed Yuzu was fully capable to handle the commander, there was no way he would be as 'lenient' as he was being once he realized the trick.

So he took a deep breath and hoped his frame mingled in with the people.

"…I don't need to tell any of you why I have brought this matter up. I can see how Vale has been shaken to its core by yesterday's events and you can be rest assured that my person was as well!" he continued, lifting his fist to the air in a show of... sympathy? Understanding? Reiji had a hard time figuring out his angle.

"He sure didn't look that affected by the Disappearance of Heartlan-" Before she could say anything else, Reiji saw how the Commander had pushed the back of his weapon as a way of shushing ayoung Faunus girl that happened to be next to them in the audience.

Just as Reiji saw the little girl scurrying away from the crowd, he balled one fist to his side and the other gripped tightly on Yuzu's arm, keeping her from punching the daylights out of the man.

When she struggled with his hold and looked up at him with something that looked like a request, he had to shake his head. They couldn't afford to blow their cover.

"…The AK-130 has been a standard security model of Remnant for several years, and they have done a fine job. Wouldn't you agree?" During their lapse of inattentiveness, the conversation had shifted to the Atlesian Knights that were now bowing to the audience. 

Reiji could not hear much else – Yuzu could probably fill him in later – as the wind picked up and the airships hovered just above the knights. The first one picked up the knights using some automatized hooks. When the airships started to fly away the other airships lowered their load as well, dropping in place a new set of Atlesian Knights; different ones. Reiji had seen the blueprints and prototypes before but it was still a little breathtaking to see them all finished.

Almost a whole year before its scheduled release to the general public.

"Presenting... the Atlesian Knight-200! Smarter, sleeker, and admittedly, a little less scary." Reiji felt slightly unnerved at the way the Knights flexed, posed and showed a digitial winking face on their screens for the audience. "These models will become active later this year, but they won't be alone! Now, the Atlesian Military has always supported the idea of removing men from the dangers of the battlefield. However, there are still many situations that will undoubtedly require... a human touch."

Reiji felt an unpleasant feeling in his gut at his words. He couldn't be talking about…

Before he could ponder his words, the General disappeared from the stage, not in a cloud of smoke or a flicker of his hand. There had been no semblance involved on that he was sure. His image had disappeared as if disintegrating in tiny pixels until even those disappeared from sight too.

"It was a hologram?" Yuzu asked with awe in her voice. "But… it looked and…  _sounded_  so real…"

He wished he had an answer for her, because Reiji knew what this had been. However, if the new model for the Atlesian Knight had not been prepared for almost a full year, the Real Solid Vision project had barely gotten out of his development stage when he last visited the headquarters labs less than two years ago.

His mind was going haywire with too many emotions, none of them pleasant and too many questions that needed to be answered.

But his mind refused to provide any help with both problems. 

"…So, our kingdom's greatest minds, in cooperation with the Leo Corporations and Schnee Dust Company, are proud to introduce... the Atlesian Paladin!"

For a dreadful moment, Reiji feared that right there and then they would end up having a ginormous war machine on display and active for the citizens of Vale, but instead, a slightly bluish and normal hologram of the model appeared instead.

The now slightly distorted voice – also normal, he said almost wanting to feel relieved – of the General was heard again.

"Now, we couldn't have him here for you today, but these mechanized battle suits will be seen defending the borders of our kingdom within the year! Now, imagine walking down the streets and all the Atlesian Knights at every corner. All of them with a direct line to the main headquarters of the police, the Emergency wing of the hospitals, and at Beacon Academy. All of them… keeping you safe and guarding your wellbeing…"

"Impossible… Is this… Is this for real?" Yuzu asked to no one in particular, voicing her thoughts and echoing his own. 

"Indeed," the Commander answered behind them. Before Yuzu or him could rebuke him, the General's now computerized voice spoke again:

"…We, the proud elite members of the Atlesian Military, in particular the Special Operatives Unit, would like for you to feel safe under the _mantle_ of our forces because it is with high pride that I announce that effective as of now, and in light of recent events, we are going to be in charge of general security until the Vytal Festival closure ceremony is over!"

There was a silence for no longer than a couple seconds before the cheers and the applause roared around them. Some people, Reiji could see, only seemed to do the latter in compromise; the look on their faces spoke of uncertainty and quiet acceptance of the news.

Others seemed genuinely happy and went as far as to take some selfies with the new Atlesian Knights, which happily obliged. 

Little by little the people started to scatter around the park – Reiji noticed how some of them practically ran away from any place where the now appointed Atlesian soldiers stood with weapons in sight – and he and Yuzu were left alone with their current problem.

"Now that you have been properly informed of the new security arrangements, I don't think I need to remind you that little adventure is over and that I am perfectly in the right to confiscate your personal belongings until I escort you back to the Academy to receive proper discipline."

Reiji turned around, whereas Yuzu took a little longer to heed, her shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Your IDs, please," the Commander ordered.

"Why? You already know who we are, you spoke our names before." Yuzu asked, gripping her wallet with a little too much force than necessary. For a moment the Commander looked like he would just repeat himself, but he looked to the side and shrugged before speaking again.

"I suppose it doesn't hurt to make you aware of the new security protocols…" he said, sounding apologetic. Whether it was out of sympathy for their plight or if his ego had been appeased, Reiji wasn't entirely sure. "…or to entertain a couple of kids while I process their felony." 

Definitely the second then.

He saw how the commander pulled out his own wallet – with the Atlas Kingdom logo, of course – and pulled out his own ID held and then his scroll. At this, Reiji gave a tiny nudge to Yuzu to pay attention just before there was a tiny flash coming from the scroll, as if it had just taken a photo.

Then just as quickly as he did, he put away the card and showed them the screen. 

It wasn't a photo of his ID but a detailed profile showcasing his personal, occupational and even battle stats inside it. He was sensible enough to show it at a distance and quick enough for them not to snoop with it.

"Is your curiosity satisfied now?" he asked without really waiting for an answer. "Now once more, show me your IDs please."

Yuzu looked up at him, not in a plea for help, but asking for guidance: what now? They had been discovered and could not sneak their way out of it without making the problem bigger than it already was.

Rather than answering her, he handed his own card to the Commander which prompted her to do the same.

"Reiji Akaba. Age 17. Citizenship: Atlas. Blood type…" He was skimming through the data now and his eyes shone when he found his object of interest: "Registered weapon and semblance: Domimus Deamon and… Different Dimension…"

While he was musing about these words, he tapped on the screen several times before he took Yuzu's ID and performed the same scan.

"Yuzu Hiragi. Age; citizenship…" There was a scowl setting on his face when he continued to read the information under his breath: "…Weapons: Canorum Somnium and Canora Florentis. Semblance:sensorial enhancement."

"Is there any problems, Commander?" Reiji asked. 

"Your records are incomplete. Explain yourselves." He almost spat, closing his scroll while eyeing them in suspicion. He looked like he was swallowing back some colorful swear words.

"I don't know what you want us to tell you. You basically recited all our personal data yourself. What you saw in there is what is available to the public," Yuzu responded, her voice sounding genuinely curious rather than trying to actively mess with the man. He still looked affronted all the same.

"An Atlesian Specialist with my rank is not a 'public person,' Miss Hiragi. I need to know of your weapon and semblances for official purposes," he clarified through gritted teeth, glaring at her.

"You just spoke them out loud!" she countered, scowling at him.

"That's doesn't tell me anything! Where are your weapon's design sheets, details and specifications? Your semblance effects? Your battle stats and history?" he rattled off, lowering himself to her height. "Have you tampered with your own official records?"

By this moment he had gotten into her personal space and there was a shift in the air that Reiji vaguely recognized and reacted to by taking a few steps backwards…

"What? What did you just accuse me of? Why would all that private data be available to someone like you?!" Yuzu yelled, not taking his attitude well. "You're not Professor Ozpin, or Beacon's teaching personnel. You have no right to look through that type of information!" Yuzu was heaving by the time she finished her rant and then gasped, now looking at him with a face that, thanks to Yuya, he had come to understand as: _'I'm into so much trouble'._

Maybe… those weren't the exact words, but it didn't matter for the sentiment was the same.

It took a second too long for Reiji to notice that the Commander was no longer looking straight at them…

Because he couldn't.

His head, along with the entirety of his upper body, were forcibly bent down under the force of the smack he received from a paper fan.

∞

 

"Nurse!" she yelled just as the lady there almost disappeared on the hallway. "Wait!" If it wasn't because she had just gushed down another energizing pill with her coffee, she could have sworn she was willfully ignoring her.

But she shook off the thought when she saw that the woman was pushing a stretcher with someone below a sheet, accompanied by her assistant. She was probably in a hurry.

"Yes? I apologize Doctor-"

"Yeah, yeah, in a hurry. We've all been for the past 24 hours, but I need to go to surgery in five and I need to archive these," she said pushing on her face a heavy carpet.

"I'd love too! But…" the nurse said, struggling to find the words it seemed. "…I need to leave this patient from another surgery in their room! Maybe…"

"Send your assistant, then. It's not a two person task and these really need to be delivered," she reasoned and gave a side glance to said assistant. "Stop staring, just go!"

"Directions!" he said in an awfully loud voice, making her head ache. "Yesterday was my first day and I don't know where the archive room is!" For a second, he looked like he was drowning. Really, these double shifts were going to burn out the new personnel in no time. "And…and they still have not given me my staff card to access the rooms."

"Ugh! Fine! These people from H.R are always late with those things! Here, use mine. Just follow that hallway until you see a set of stairs on the left side and search for the only wooden door in the floor. You can't miss it!" the doctor instructed, slipping the card into his pocket and turning to leave. She was going to be late damn it!

"Thanks!" She heard them both call afterwards, provoking a bit of guilt sliding in her gut at not returning the words. It had been so long since someone had thanked her for what was essentially her job…

Actually… when was the last time new interns had been released into personnel? …

Damn, she really ought to cut down her hours after this…

.

.

.

"Can't we hurry? And why do I have to be the one wearing this… _drape_?" Yugo muttered under the sheet. "It's all itchy! What fabric do you use to make these?"

"Get down!" Carly ordered, forcing his head to hide under the cover again. "And no, we can't. If we run outside the ER wing, we'll call attention to ourselves."

And so they followed the hallway where fewer and fewer people were seen. They passed through a place where people were wearing not just coats or scrubs, but formal clothes and carrying papers. When they passed these few hallways, no one seemed to question or even look them in the eye, and they passed through without much of a hassle, except for one cleaning employee whom Sawatari was not sure if he had stared at them for too long or not.

Then they arrived to a dimly obscured hallway that he fought a little too hard to not be reminded of the cave back at their Initiation.

"We're here." Carly spoke up, pulling out a mini lantern from out of one of her pockets and they both saw how the door also had the same security panel like the one on the top floor.

"Great, I finally get to do something!" cheered Yugo, all too excited to get off from his position that he even stretched before getting to work.

_'Don't think of cats, don't think of cats…damn it_ _._ _'_

When his hand waved above the panel, this time with little more light, Sawatari saw tiny tendrils of static passing from his fingers through the screen… He was sure his eyes glowed in the dark and no longer sure that it had to do with his… heritage.

"Uh?" Yugo said and there were a couple sparks flying.

"What?" he asked, feeling a little nervous.

"Nothing, this one is… different. I'm gonna need a more hands on approach," he replied, taking his glove off with his teeth and now Sawatari noticed the tiny light tendrils being generated beneath his skin… or that's how it looked. He thought it was a little too creepy to keep staring.

"Wow! That's what a vytal semblance looks like?" Carly question, hovering over his shoulder, focusing her glasses on the sight. 

"Uh? No…" he answered. "It's different depending on the type of effect and nature…" The answer was simple; he didn't want to bother with a full explanation.

"You have one too?" she asked in the most disbelieving tone that it was hard for him not to feel offended, but the beeping that the door gave when it opened pulled his attention away from her.

"Done! I need to know who fabricates these stuff. We could do some idea exchanges," Yugo said with a wide smile, looking overtly proud of himself.

Sawatari just entered the place, dumping the document binders – it's not like it was his actual responsibility to sort them out, after all – on some table which had some type of registry book with lots of dates, names and even reasons for being admitted into the hospital, just sitting there in the open; a pen was even next to it.

Now he just needed to check them and find the names on the list Reiji gave them… well that and another little task.

Carly was on her side looking at them with interest while going through the documents they were supposed to sort out.

"What are you doing?" he asked, noticing how she got out a tiny camera and took photos of almost every page.

"My job," she said without stopping. "You didn't think I was helping you out of the kindness of my heart, did you?" she asked, closing one binder and looking at the dates on the other, shrugging and leaving it where it was.

Right, her job, whatever this gig was supposed to be. Sawatari was in no position to judge. Still, he would feel much better after they were done with this.

Just one more name; _'Yusho Sakaki… admitted with…that_ _. D_ _oesn't sound so bad… oh wait… never mind…_ _R_ _oom 304, got it_ _._ _'_

"Time to go," he said after collecting all the data they needed.

"Wait!" Carly yelled and pointed at the door right across the hall. It read **'MORGUE'** "If… you can help me get in there, then I will have considered your debt to me repaid. I didn't see you here and you never saw me either," she proposed to them, gripping her arms.

"Why in heaven's name do you want to go… _there_?" Yugo asked, and he looked like he was suppressing a chill. "That's where they keep… you know…. Dead bodies," he said in a hushed tone, pointing at the door but refusing to look at it.

"I'm not going to touch anything… I just need to check what we were told on TV; that there were no casualties. Just the dates on the containers I promise."

Sawatari looked at Yugo, this was his call after all. He could do nothing even if he wanted to. In response, he just walked to the door with almost too much care and the panel turned on. This one looked different; a white color on the screen and no help menu. Instead, it was settled on an "enter password" screen.

The moment Yugo attempted to run his hand over the screen, tiny sparks flew around him.

"This one is… weird. It doesn't let me access the main core without some authorization, and even then we don't have the password…"

Carly looked dejected for a minute before perking up and pulling Sawatari next to her, searching his pockets. 

"Here!" she cheered, pulling the white card with a black band on the back, and handed it to Yugo, who looked at it with some doubt and passed it through a slot below the screen.

It did nothing but blink a little, but then Yugo passed his hand and the request for a password disappeared.

There was a clicking sound and the door opened before them, letting a chilly air get to them; Yugo was specially affected.

"Ugh, be quick. I have a bad feeling about this," he instructed them, distaste pouring from his voice.

"Thank you…" she whispered and got into the room. Sawatari, on his end, dared to take a step. Pulling a breaking and entering, impersonating and whatever else was one thing… daring himself near …this was another and he was not about to risk it.

They both heard a couple of clicks from her camera presumably – did that mean she found something out of place? Sawatari didn't feel like finding out – and she came back, looking a little pale but still satisfied with herself.

"I can't believe our luck!" They were getting out of there and as smoothly as possible and with his reputation intact! "Can't believe that doctor let us have this," he mentioned, looking at the card thatCarly pocketed now. Good, he didn't want it near him now. 

"You call that luck? I could smell the sweetness off her breath from below the sheet! I'm more surprised that she was talking clearly…" Sawatari heard Yugo mutter.

"That's how it happens during crisis. Hospitals are swamped and staff – especially healers – cannot work more than 24 hours on a roll without some… incentive," Carly explained, shrugging a little but not without mirth.

"What's with her sweet breath? Maybe she ate an energizing bar?" he theorized. The doctor did look a little too… frantic and her pupils looked a little too big, but that's how some people behaved when tired, right? At least that's how Hokuto behaved right before conking out into sleep like a rock or something.

"…Yeah, she totally had something 'sweet' for more energy," Carly said under her breath and Yugo snickered. 

"So… she was into a … _sugar rush_?" he added, almost giggling, and Sawatari didn't like it. It somehow felt like they were making fun of him. 

"What?" he demanded them. Carly looked to the side, stifling her laughter and even though he couldn't see him, Yugo was doing the same, already lying on the stretcher but looking reluctantly to the sheet in his hands.

"Mmm, as the responsible adult here, I think it's better that you don't know," said Carly in a failed attempt at looking serious. 

"Says the grown woman who had no idea that nurse costumes are not for impersonating actual nurses," he countered. Really, she was lucky that there was more than just one change of clothing inside that closet.

"Then what kind of nurses would they'd be for?!" she asked, looking more curious than angered, as if ready to take notes or something.

"…Sorry, but as a sensible soon-to-be hunter that I am, I believe it's better you don't know," he said in a mock-tone.

"A hunter who is now pulling faces at me, very professional," she countered, imitating his face.

"Can both of you shut up? How long until we get out of here?" Yugo yelled, throwing the blanket to the floor and attempting to walk down the hallway, whereas he and Carly tried to stop him.

"Stop it!"

"You're gonna blow our cover!"

"There's no one here! Why do you get to be 'nurses' anyway while I have to play dead?" he yelled and Sawatari could swear he was trying to slash at them with his hands.

"Grrr, stop… complaining! At least you got to keep your clothes on!" he complained in between growls, still feeling the embarrassment of changing in the same room as another person; an older woman at that.

"And nobody was going to believe that, unless we cut your tail off!" Carly yelled and before he could register it in full, the struggling stopped just as he was about to be kicked in the face.

Yugo was now sitting cross-legged on the floor while glaring at her, while she was covering her mouth with both of her hands. His tail moved slowly, in a slithering manner and his eyes glowed now more than ever. 

"I'm… sorry, I didn't… um… that was…" Carly attempted to say while shaking her arms wildly looking like one of those inflatable promotional balloons. As an answer, Yugo only rolled his eyes, and smiled again, if humorlessly. 

"Tch… whatever seems like we're done here." He bit out, his tail pointing to the place right above them. There was an AC panel there, uncovered. The rusty and old lid laid forgotten on the side of the hallway. Yugo was crouching now and with a jump, he disappeared from their sight.

"I'll meet you outside!" he yelled, already sounding far away.

"Sorry…" Carly kept on saying, like a broken record until she looked at him. "…So I guess that's is for now?"

"Uh, actually, I need to do another… errand before we leave," he said, squishing an envelope in his pocket.

∞

"Stop squirming!" Rin half-whispered and half-yelled in her ear.

If this was a normal situation, Masumi might huff and give a cutting remark, but right now with her feet feeling like two pieces of lead, anything else but walking seemed too much effort.

"At least try to focus. This is what you and your friends wanted to do, right? Getting information about the White Fang? Well, there will be no better chance than this one," Rin said.

"You said… I'm a wolf…" Was the only thing she managed to say before the metallic door opened with a thud.

"Come in." A voice came from within the room.

_"This time I won't be able to talk for you, unless they address me directly. If you know what's good for you… you'll act as if you know everything_ _. D_ _on't answer any question_ _s_ _and don't look at him directly_ _in_ _the eyes or they'll know."_

That was what had been instructed to her in between the short minutes the errand boy had gone with her request and came back. Usually Masumi had little problem with doing those things. She liked to think of herself as professional at getting information out of people.

Right now though, she felt like a child… no, not a child;  _a cub_.

Masumi was not sure what she expected to find. Maybe the ram Faunus surrounded by more weapons and warriors ready to subjugate her if he suspected her in the slightest. Maybe not him, but some other person acting in his stead with some measly annoyances like them. 

She just knows she didn't expect him to be alone with the exception of a single guard who was in the middle of drinking some juice or soda. The moment they both got within sight, however, he dropped the can and readjusted his uniform, as if looking for stains.

The older Faunus got up from his seat. Masumi's instincts thankfully returned to work and started to observe anything of importance around the place, noticing how… messy the place was. Junk food wrappers, cans, bottles and other things were scattered around the floor without a care, along with used up matches, wrenches, and what she couldn't decide if they were old oil or caramel stains. 

He stopped right across from them, keeping a distance of five steps in between. He seized them both, or at least he looked like he did, for he was still wearing his mask. His gaze stopped on Rin once again, but it immediately fell on her. 

"…I had thought about pulling the truth out of you, admit your bluff…" He started giving her a once-over and rubbed his chin. "…But how can I? When every ounce of your heritage drips from your being?" 

So, he had a thing for convoluted, semi-poetic statements. It didn't make him less dangerous, if less imposing. 

It helped her feel more like herself. 

"A… pleasure to meet you, sir," she greeted him, bowing slightly to him. 

"The pleasure is mine. I thought your bloodline had been hunted down years ago… I had no news that any of them had any offspring, much less one so young…" he said sounding… wistful?

"…Not as young…" She paused and looked at the guard, noticing at least how short and scrawny he looked. "...from what I see." In response the boy – kid? – looked like he might choke on his own saliva.

"I have not forced anyone into joining our cause," he countered her, taking another step forward. 

"Of course not," she hurried to say. "I was simply wondering if you should not have more guards. Perhaps ones with a bit more… experience." Masumi heard him click his tongue before answering.

"Trust me when I say that Sam has more experience than many of the guards out there. You could almost say… that he was born into the White Fang."

"I thought those were only rumors," Masumi spoke.

"From people who love to paint us as rogue, warmongering animals, no doubt," he talked back.

"Blowing up the Velaris Hall wasn't exactly a peaceful message," she mentioned, feeling a bit bolder. 

"And yet, you just saw how our Faunus brethren responded," he said. "And so have you..." he said, dropping his voice to a whispering level. 

This was it, she thought, perceiving how Rin froze next to her. The hairs on her nape stood on end, and she knew with certainty that whatever she chose to say in response to this, there would no longer be a way out. 

"I …I smell." she said, cursing in her mind for the shaking in her voice. He moved to her eye level, and even through his mask she could tell he was looking her in the eyes. 

Then she felt his gloved hand on her hair, and he smiled.

"That matters little to me, because it is your eyes which speak to me: you seek the truth, humans love to classify things, to put them into small, tidy and orderly boxes, for them you would most certainly be no better than a _mongrel_ …" There was something deeply bitter behind that word, she noticed in the way almost bite his tongue off. "…But to us, you are our kin, brethren, family."

Masumi felt a soft whistle: this was her cue. 

"First, tell me about my family. Tell me who I am." 

"Gladly."

∞

"I hope you understand none of this is personal," Yaiba heard Torchwick speak the moment they were thrown into some type of medical room, looking around though 'medical' felt too generous, the were dingy sheets, rust over the pipes, and the whole place smelled musty.

The fact that there were two surgical beds in the middle did nothing to reassure him. 

_"Did I heard right? That you brought me new specimens? Don't br_ _eak_ _my heart again …"_  

"Why didn't you attack them?" he asked his companion in a hushed voice. 

"What if something happens to my dad?" Yuya replied in a low voice, refusing to meet his eyes. 

"You heard the General! He's in the hospital, the place with the highest security after the Academy and the City Hall!" he yelled, feeling a little exasperated. If he could have just used his glyphs to get the hell out of this he would, but how far could he go without Yuya's speed? 

"The Velaris Hall was supposed to be safe too…" He heard him mumble and he had to gather all his self-control not to beat some sense into him. Of course, one look at Yuya sinking into the dirty floor looking like a child made this moot. 

"Oh for heaven's sake, are you serious?! Nobody, and listen to me, nobody could have predicted that, Yuya, and who's to say they aren't just bluffing? You've said so yourself many times: Everyone knows who your dad is?!" 

Before he could see if his words had any effect on Yuya, the metallic door opened and much to Yaiba dismay he kept his head low; the person who entered the room was not just Torchwick (who stood before the front door, making warning signs about not trying anything funny) no, this was an old man. Or at least he looked like an old man, because the skin of his face looked like it had been stretched onto his skull, making his eyes look too big and sunken. His high cheekbones gave him an emaciated look and he was so pale he looked ghastly.

The creepy smile did not help.

"Oh my, you were not lying…These are some fine specimens," the man said, the smile on his face widening and yes, apparently it was possible for the man to look even creepier. 

The thief only gave a shrug as a response. 

"Let me see…" the man mused, walking over to Yuya and kneeling before him, his spidery long hands holding up his chin. "…Nice build and stats, healthy, his semblance is… agility," When he said this, it was the only time Yuya showed any type of emotion: surprise, which Yaiba supposed mirrored his own. How on Earth had he managed to know that? "That is a little disappointing. We already have plenty of enhancement semblances, not bad but nothing outstanding," he said with an overly theatrical sigh. "I already have plenty of data from his category, using a sample on this one would be a waste of resources if you ask me, Roman." 

Yaiba allowed himself the slightest bit of satisfaction at seeing Torchwick's disgusted face at the endearing tone and the shiver he tried to hide, but then looking at how dejected Yuya looked at the words 'waste', 'nothing outstanding' and 'disappointing' he smiled again. 

"I get you. I mean, I grew up to stories of his mother terrorizing the underworld in all four kingdoms, you'd think her spawn would do better than that," he said, pulling a cigar from his jacket, but strangely no lighter. "Probably got watered down by the father? You're the doctor not me, but what else can you get when you put together a clown and an energy powerhouse? A hyperactive buffoon it seems."

The man – doctor? Seriously? – moved from Yuya, losing interest it seems to him. Yaiba wanted to push his cold fingers, but he knew it would be idiotic in this situation. 

"My father is not a clown," he gritted through his teeth and Yaiba could see now that his fist was balled on the floor while the other hand was gripping the handle of his staff.

"Ah-ah, what did we say about that?" Torchwick scolded, stalking into the room and using the end of his weapon to push at Yuya's chest with a chuckle. It was far from a pleasant sight, but he tried to focus on that instead of the wide eyes the man looking at him with, like a frog or an owl, muttering the same stuff about health and stats – and a minor comment about his short height – then he felt the fingers on his chin tremble. "Either way, leave him alone, I already have some animals who called dibs for playing with him."

"Glyph user," he breathed, and Yaiba knew the amazement he heard in his voice was anything but good. "We have a _glyph_ user!"

And at that, Torchwick also stopped messing with Yuya and gave him a once-over along with a whistle.

"Well, you don't know how much trouble this saves us, kids. Let's call it even then. You really don't need to pay me for the drinks." he said, even Yuya was watching him now with a somewhat questioning look.

From somewhere in his body, the old man pulled a syringe with a blood red liquid on the inside of it, and Yaiba swallowed loud and deeply. Yuya looked sick too, but Torchwick never allowed him to move too much without pressing the muzzle of his cane to his chest. When the man lifted the sleeves to pinch him with it there was a thud sound and he saw the broken needle fall between his legs.

"Aw, someone is afraid of needles here!" the old man said and he and Torchwick cackled. "Be nice won't you? Just a little pinch and it will be over, yes? Don't force me to use anesthetic with you. It would mess up my entire data. 

"Stop it!" Yuya yelled and he was slapped in the face in response.

He felt the sweat roll down his back at the mention of anesthetics. He didn't want that needle anywhere near him, but wanted even less to be unconscious and unable to use his Aura or Semblance.

With a sigh, he dropped his Aura.

"Atta boy," the doctor said and while the pinch wasn't anything bad, the moment he pushed whatever contents into him, Yaiba felt his stomach turn and he could swear that he felt the sliminess of the liquid entering his body. 

Then nothing happened.

Yaiba was not sure of what he was expecting, but even he didn't feel any sting where the needle had been injected, only the slightly reddish mark around it.

"What was that?" he asked, and the Doctor's wide smile simply became wider – it almost looked like his face splinted into two – and walked to the tray at the far back of the room with the medical tools on it.

"It will be just be a matter of minutes before I prepare for surgery…" he said and it was only then that he noticed he was putting on gloves and he pulled his scroll, looking for something… 

_'What to do? You don't follow leads and rebel against order…'_

 Music? And not just any music; it had the most trending sound. The type that you'd hear in any station at any time of the day. To top it all, with a chirpy voice that contrasted too much with the weird lyrics.

_'You defy upbringing and can't put a leash on you…'_

"I just need the right mood, you know? And the rhythm helps me focus," the man explained, and he turned around again, humming along to the energetic song. If he was not in the middle of the situation, he might have found it funny. 

_'You put on a weight of impulses that you've swallowed and grown;_

_You can't **Wait** '_

Torchwick seemed equally weirded out and just walked outside, not before making a 'I see you' gesture to Yuya. If only he wasn't so damn scared and worried for his dad. If he had a little more stomach for cruelty… 

_'I want to forget everything.'_

 That's right.

"Yuya," he whispered, nodding and never taking his eyes off the door. "Do that… thing you do."

_'I can't stop you from running away.'_

"…What?" he asked, looking puzzled for a second. Then understanding passed through his eyes.

Then fear. 

_'Hey! It's not dream.'_

"Yaiba… I can't." he said, sinking himself to his knees, his fingers digging on the floor.

He understood why. Yaiba still remembered the crazed look in Yuya's eyes when he threw him to the other side of the warehouse that night. The immense strength that did not compare to his usual when in training matches… the way he had gleefully handled all the White Fang members and the bodily harm he had inflicted on them.

_'But, nobody knows.'_

He remembered all too well, but right now it wasn't about if he could; it was that they had no choice left. 

_'Run away, away.'_

"Torchwick is right then…" He was going to apologize for this afterwards. "Not just about your dad, but about you. You're a buffoon." 

_'Don't make fun of me.'_  

"What?" 

_'Please don't hate me.'_

"You say that is because of your father, but is it though? You could have made a run for it when we were still at the club instead of just surrounding ourselves. This isn't even about you caring about your dad's wellbeing. It's because you're scared that you'll be all alone if something happens to him. It always boils down to that, doesn't it Yuya?"

_'What to do?'_

"I'm not-"

"It's not just that, you know? You know what your problem is? You constantly think you're the victim, but you'd probably sleep a lot better at night if you just admitted to yourself that you are a coward."

_'So long, farewell!'_

"Shut up…"

"So little Yuya lost his mom and now his dad is the bad guy because he's trying to move on instead of wallowing in self-pity. Your friends make it into Beacon and they'll leave you all alone on the island. Reiji is now your team leader and that means he's an arrogant prick. Yuzu is good at socializing and making friends and you're not, so obviously that means she's being stolen from you. Boohoo. I could go on; you know?" 

_'I wanted to meet you'_  

He _would_ have continued if it wasn't because he felt his chest tightening and spasms running all over his body. 

From the corner of his eyes, he noticed the burn mark of the injection had faded, and he felt something running all over his body.

"SHUT UP!!!"

_'Bark, enchant!'_

The tray the doctor was was dropped to the floor, and Torchwick entered in the room at Yuya's howl and looked at them with the same annoyance as ever when he realized nothing happened. 

_'The beast can't be stopped!'_  

At least nothing they didn't expect, because when he saw Yaiba's pain, he smirked. 

"Roman, contain the boy," the doctor instructed, even though it was getting harder for Yaiba to make out words, he saw him backing himself into the counter, his eyes fixed on Yuya, and he looked downright terrified.

_‘Scared by the ugly parts deep_

_in my heart, my heartbeat screams'_

"Why bother? I have him all tamed, you see?" Then he used his cane again to push Yuya to the floor. 

In the sharp light of the room it was hard to tell, but Yaiba would always remember the red glow of Yuya's eyes, and the heaviness of the air around him. 

If the pain wasn't so overbearing, he might have laughed at them.

_'Understand. Hey!_

_I can't release it with love and a fear, I can't tame it'_  

"Roman, now is not the time for games! Contain the boy, now!" 

"As if you're one to talk about ga-" 

The last thing Yaiba saw was Yuya lunging at Torchwick, holding the blade of his weapon at his throat.

_'Because, I need you… beast dwelling inside of me.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! It's been such a long while since I last posted anything right? (Please don't kill me...)
> 
> First I was stuck on this chapter, because I knew what I wanted to happen (god blesses outlines) but I didn't knew how to make it happen.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!
> 
> Thank you to AnimeGirl 144 for the beta reading and your eternal patience~


	9. 8.- Assault (Stage Five)

The room was awfully quiet, except for the constant beeping of the screen attached to his bed. It was so annoying. He wished it would stop.

He didn't even know why they had to keep him in this room still. He wasn't that hurt; sure, the bomb – or whatever that thing was supposed to be called – had exploded a couple meters from his face,but other than the minor inconvenience of inhaling smoke and ashes, his instincts had, thank heavens – and thank you, Yoko – answered quickly and he was mostly unharmed.

Not that it mattered to the healers rushing him into the ER, who, despite his arguments, had him anesthetized the moment he was rushed into the hospital. 

It was such a strange feeling, even the dull ache from his leg was gone and he wished back for it, because at least that was familiar.

He noticed some shifting from the corner of his eye; even the colors looked so washed out under the effects of the shots because he could swear Yuya was not brown-haired. 

"Yuya, is that you?" he asked and felt a little surprised about how his voice sounded. He hoped it wasn't permanent; he needed his voice. 

"Um, nope, but I come in his stead… I think…" The voice sounded muffled too, with a lot of echo and he felt like a drum was being played inside his head. "…Sorry I can't stay for long. Here, take this."

He felt something being slipped into his hand, which of course it dropped because his hand moved too slow. It felt like a piece of paper. The boy grumbled and he supposed he picked it up and saw his blurred figure place it on top of the nightstand beside the bed. 

Maybe his state also made it look like time moved at different rates too, because the boy left too soon. 

Too soon for him to ask why hadn't Yuya just handed it himself.

More shifting, and this time the shade of red and green were the right hue, but he remained seated on the other side of the room, sulking as he always did in dire moments. 

Ah… maybe he had just been embarrassed. 

∞

Yuzu briefly wondered if the fact that this was the second time in less than a year that she was being handcuffed was a worrying sign of her future career as a hunter… she really hoped her Dad did not get wind of this. 

"Isn't this a little excessive?" she asked to Reiji, sitting next to her, also handcuffed while the Commander – she would love to have a chat to whoever promoted him, thank you very much – who seemed too busy going through her scroll. 

Reiji didn't answer, but looked like he was seriously considering the question, which was worrying to say the least.

"It is excessive, but since tensions seem to be running high due to the attack… I wouldn't put it past him to build a case on the basis of assaulting a security officer, claiming the use of brute force," he said, and his head gesture made her think that he would push his glasses up if he could.

"I'm sorry," she apologized after releasing a sigh, and scooted a bit near him. "Here, let me fix it." And scooted a bit closer to try to fix his glasses for him instead by using her forehead.

Except that he turned his body before she could try anything.

"You can apologize later and via a handwritten letter. I don't have time for half-hearted apologies," the voice of the Phoenix guy spoke up. 

"I was not apologizing to you, Commander, but to my friend for sticking him into troubles," she corrected the man, feeling a vein pop at the condescending voice, as if she would waste valuable paper on a letter for such a stuck up!

At this point he looked so exasperated that Yuzu didn't need her enhanced sight to catch the very unprofessional expression going through his face, even as he tried to fix it, she got the feel that he was fighting the urge to facepalm. 

"What were you doing at the CCT tower?" he asked instead. 

"Making a call," Reiji answered this time, and even if he didn't make a 'duh' at the end, he didn't need it; the effect on the Commander was the same: a twitch under his eye.

"You could have made a call from the Beacon's library, or from the main CCT tower on the campus, yet you want me to believe that you went all the way to commit robbery, impersonate a foreign officer, and break curfew, just to make a call?"

"There were a lot of people in the library calling their own families and friends in the city… I like my privacy," Reiji answered again. 

"Which is why you went to a public CCT tower?" he pressed. 

"It was my belief that in the meantime there would be less praying eyes on a public space that a school full military personnel," Reiji said and after a pause he added: "A misconception which you corrected for me earlier this evening, I appreciate it." 

Yuzu could swear that the noise coming from this person was meant to be a sigh, but it came as a growl instead. 

Then he got in their faces. 

"Look, I know you were up to something, and I know that you and your little friend did something during the half hour you stood outside the tower. I don't know how you managed to avoid the security system or how you erased your tracks, but there is an easy way and a hard way to do this." Then she felt a hand around her neck and she found herself staring down at the Commander this time. It was very difficult to do anything but breathe in this position. 

Next to her, she saw that Reiji was also at her eye level. His glasses looked completely lopsided while he attempted to keep a straight face. 

"You can be good _kids_ and tell me everything I need to know to fill out a report and I assure you that you and your other friends will be able escorted back to Beacon by me with nothing but a slap on the wrist… Or, you can continue to obstruct my job and I will make a full report on everything I have seen today. I'm sure the General and the Headmaster will have a field day reading it outside of context and deciding whether or not you are fit to participate in the Vytal Tournament … or the future of your training as hunters in Beacon or any other Academy." 

She felt the stares of some people passing by on them, but none of them seemed to want to be involved and just walked faster. 

Then she focused on the Commander again, and his eyes looked surprisingly calm and indifferent. 

Such a huge difference from the quick breaths and thunderous heartbeat she sensed from him. 

"But, you won't," she said, and felt the surprise coming from both him and Reiji next to her. "If you wanted to do it, you would have done it already. Heck, you could have done it from the campus, without coming all the way down from the city." 

She felt the hold on her neck tighten for a few seconds, but then it slacked a little bit and she took the opportunity to kick at his chest. As much as she would have loved to break a rib or two, she only used enough strength to force him to let them go. 

Yuzu managed to land on her own feet, squashing the need to rub her neck where she could feel the bruises starting to form. 

Jerk. 

"Yuzu is right," she heard Reiji say, and gave Yuzu a nod before speaking again. Unlike her, he didn't bother to hide his discomfort and she could feel the annoyance dripping from his words: "All you needed to do was release an order for the VPD to arrest us or anyone looking suspicious and, as per the new security arrangement, they would have had to listen... but then you would have to give your name and rank to make any of it effective." 

"Really?" she asked out loud. "And here you have me thinking that you're just a guy obsessed with keeping order, or perhaps someone married to his job…" Yuzu left the matter hanging but she made clear enough what they were both thinking. 

The Commander was just trying to save his own skin. 

"You brats," he seethed and it was funny now that he was glaring, he actually looked less threatening. "I don't have to justify any of my actions to you. I am upholding my orders. I was just attempting to be lenient-" 

"Then do it!" she said, unable to stop herself. The urge to slap him again was too strong. "And as good _kids_ , we'll make sure to confess with full detail how we managed to sneak past the security you were in charge of organizing. I'll go into every detail on how your men looked a little too eager to show off their weapons and plaques, or the way some of them were ogling at my friends." 

Even if that made their task easier, she still felt a shiver running down her back thinking about it. 

Then Reiji's contented smile made it disappear.

**♩ ♪ 'LET'S JOY!**

**Being sentimental, is nonsense!' ♫ ♬**

And just like that the tension of the moment was completely broken, and it was hard not to try and laugh at the face the Commander was making hearing the cheerful music and lyrics coming from her scroll.

**♩ ♪ 'No matter how many times I repeat it over and over again inside my head' ♫ ♬**

 

"Answer it," he demanded over the music and she almost did it, except that on her screen the photo of Yaiba appeared.

Damn it. 

**♩ ♪' I can change it by just smiling with everyone!' ♫ ♬**

"Answer it or I will," he repeated. "And put it on the speaker."

No better incentive than that, so she hit the button and waited for Yaiba's voice. For a few minutes there was nothing but the sound of fumbling fabric and the distant echo of some type of riff music and guitar. 

She sighed in relief. Maybe he had just butt dialed or something.

Then the screams came in. 

Not just any screams, Yaiba's, and the sounds of several adult people – one of which sounded familiar – screaming around, bullets being shot and struggling sounds. 

Then the growls came in. 

She crossed eyes with Reiji, and she felt her heart sink to her feet. 

Now… of all times.

"We have to be there." 

∞

"What was that?!" the boss demanded, shooting up from his seat.

Rin was also startled, but unlike him or Masumi she went still, and tried to pay attention to any movement or sounds in her surroundings.

She moved away from the door just as a uniformed man – a dog from the smell – came barging in.

"Sir! We have an emergency at the club!" And without any more words between them, they both rushed outside (muttering something about a rat not doing the job), leaving her and Masumi with the boy, who despite looking very unimpressive, Rin knew better than to make assumptions. 

She crossed the room and then stood in front of Masumi.

The girl didn't look at her. She wasn't looking at anywhere in particular because her hands were covering her face, and her long hair covered most of that too anyway.

"Is she gonna be alright?" the boy asked from his post, sounding more worried than anyone ought to be for someone they didn't know. "Maybe I should show you both the way out…" 

"No need!" Rin shouted out. "Really! It's just a lot of information to take in, I guess. Can you… give us a few minutes to speak in private?" she asked forming the bigger and brighter smile she could manage. 

"You get five… From what I've heard there's been a raid and we need to evacuate soon anyway," the boy said, exiting the room, and Rin didn't miss the sound of a heavy lock being put into place.

When she was sure they weren't being spied on, she crouched in front of Masumi and took her hands into hers, forcing them apart and far away from her face. 

"You know we don't have time for this, right?" she questioned her companion, and attempted to lock eyes with her so she could understand that there was no malice behind her words, but she refused to comply.

"You can't tell me you've never suspected anything was amiss about you?" she continued. 

"I didn't… until very recently," she answered barely moving. "I suppose it's something that I've never paid too mind to." 

"How lucky for you," she said, finding it hard not to slip some bitterness into it. "What are you going to do now?" 

"Do? I can barely think or feel anything," she said. "What is there to do now in any case?" This time she did look at her. 

"The decision is yours. I'm not going to push you in either direction." Rin was trying, hard, to summon some sympathy, but she had been running low on it for a while now.

"This is a pain," Masumi complained and this time she really didn't hold off her tongue. 

"Welcome to the club, everything is a pain for us, you just gotta get used to it." Her fingers were now drumming on her knee. 

"That sounds lame." Masumi kept on and she was touching the edges of her mask now. 

"Doing things that you know are lame requires courage." Rin very purposefully tapped on her own mask too. 

"Why can't I just do cool things?" This was spoken with a chuckle in her voice. 

"Then you will never be able to do anything but that." 

She went quiet for whole minute – which ticked her off, because had she not heard the boy? – and for a moment, Rin feared she might have to drag her from this place on her back or something, her mind already trying to calculate how much she might weight. 

Then Masumi got up. She cracked her neck from side to side, then her knuckles, and finally, she stretched her arms above herself. 

"Well, time to get to work." 

∞

"About time," he muttered, jumping in front of them as they slipped from the – now boosted – emergency door. 

"We didn't take that long," Sawatari protested, doing his usual pout. Behind him, the reporter girl was acting way gloomier than the entirety of the night and refused to meet his eyes. 

"Tell that to…" He looked at the woman again. "You know…" He used his hands to make mock horns on top of his head. 

Carly only stared at him as if he was a freak and averted her eyes when she noticed him staring. 

"Shit, we ran out of time?" he asked, checking his own scroll. "…There's still ten minutes. I'm sure that your marvelous driving will get us the right on time."

Yugo didn't have the patience or the full knowledge to explain why they needed to be on their way, but luckily he didn't need to. Right as he finished talking there were lots of patrol cars and even some helicopters – and maybe he was hallucinating because he swore there were some robots in there – driving down the street and by the looks of it, they were going where they were all heading to their meeting point.

"This is very odd. There has been no official announcements to close any streets nor about any disruptions at the moment," Carly commented, adjusting her glasses after the last car passed and scribbling something more on her pad. 

"Oh." Was the only thing Sawatari needed to say. 

"Let's go," he said pulling his bike from under the tables, and throwing him the spare helmet, the white with pink one that belonged to Rin. 

This time, besides some grumbling, he didn't protest and just put on the thing hopping in. But just as he was prepared to rev up the engine, he had to stop short. 

Yugo winced at the look of the wheel marks on the street because that could only mean the tires were already wearing off. 

"Oi! The heck are you doing?!" he yelled at Carly, who was standing in between the road and the alley. She was trembling as if she thought he'd actually run her over.

He clicked his tongue and his tail was moving wildly, getting a gasp from Sawatari. 

"Sorry, but please take me with you!" she requested and actually bowed when she did so. 

"No way. Scram off," he told her, turning on the engine again to make the point clear. 

"This… is very unusual! Everything about this situation is super weird and it didn't just start with the attack! And no one is telling us anything! I'm a reporter; I need to report on this!" She started walking over to him and putting her hand on the handle. 

"Please," said Sawatari this time. "The hospital is one thing, but the place where we're going is where the police are going. In case you didn't notice, this will be dangerous. What will you even do?! Blind them with your camera flash?" 

"Besides, do you know how dangerous it is to drive with three people on board? We will call too much attention to ourselves, the exact opposite of what we want!" 

"I can fight! A little anyway… It was a first aid and self-defense course mandated by the station. They taught us the basics of how to handle Aura and some movements, but I won't be a load, right?"

"Yes, you will," he replied, revving up again and this time the electric discharge he forced through the bike seemed enough to scare her off and she jumped out of her skin enough for him to pass through. 

But Sawatari tapped on his shoulder to wait for a little bit.

"Let me delete the photo. You promised you would after we helped you," he said, and Carly handed him the scroll – not the camera she had used before, he noticed – and then gave it back. "No offense," said Sawatari, "but I know which courses you took, and LDS gives them too! But those won't help you stop Dust bullets or weapons, and it won't help you against semblance users. We're doing you a favor." 

He grabbed onto the bike again, and that was enough of a sign for Yugo to take off.

In the rear mirror he sneaked a look at the figure of the woman got smaller and smaller.

∞

"What the hell happened here?" he demanded as soon as he entered the empty building. The place was a total mess. There was food and drinks left half way done on the bar and on the tables. Some of the furniture had some deep slashes while others were cut into pieces. There was broken glass and porcelain all over the floor, and the occasional shoe or accessory was left forgotten, as if someone had been in very tight rush to leave. 

Or ran away… but from what? He sniffed the air, but did not detect any hint of blood. 

But there was a lot of dust and gunpowder remnants in the air.

Shinji made a sign for his men to stop when they reached the middle of the dance floor, completely empty, but apparently it had not just been the customers who ran away, because someone had left the music on. 

**♩ ♪ 'I burn, can't hold me down-n-n-n… I burn…' ♫ ♬**

The same verse was only being repeated on a loop.

Really, if he didn't know any better, he would think that the place was raided by Grimms or something similar.

"Group A, check the top floor and make sure you check if anyone has forced the doors or the windows. Group B, you will check the basement. If you find anyone and they're conscious, bring them to me, human or Faunus," he instructed his men and waited for them to disperse.

"And you boss?" asked Perry.

"I will look for Torchwick and the quack," he replied, and that seemed like a good enough answer for he scrambled off. 

He continued to walk in between the booths of the main floor. Not everyone had been raided, but considering some of them had left their scrolls and some precious jewelry – he pocketed both, you never knew when repairs or extra cash would be needed – whatever happened here had really scared off people. 

Then, a scruff of green hair caught his attention behind one of the couches. He kept his hold on the handle of his gun and walked in slow motions. 

When he jumped to the couch, he found a figure in fetal position. 

A mere kid, human by the looks of it. He seemed passed out and the faint breathing he heard told him he was not hurt. He kicked the side of his leg, and it twitched in response, but no more movement. 

He clicked his tongue and kicked harder. This time there was some grumbling. 

"Hey, kid, wake up," he said and this time the kid got up and stared at him with big red eyes. When he tried to get up, he slipped and landed on his hands and knees. He looked exhausted and he was trembling too. "You need to leave this place."

"My friend, he was here with me… I can't find him…" the kid said in a parched voice. 

"I'm sorry to hear that, but you're the only one I've found here. Maybe he ran away with the crowd," he informed the kid, and inspected his body for injuries. Besides some ugly bruises – that meant he was a civilian too – he seemed to be perfectly fine. 

So he left him there, and continued walking. 

This time he almost tripped, but he got his bearing before doing so and looked down at his feet. 

It was a cane; a very familiar cane. 

It didn't look too worse for wear; it didn't have any more ammunition left, but the smell of burnt Dust on the muzzle was very recent. 

But it wasn't that which called his attention; the way the thing had been put on the floor where anyone would either trip over it or at least the attention would be brought by the weird position. 

**♩ ♪ 'I burn, can't hold me down-n-n-n… I burn…' ♫ ♬**

His sight was directed to the place where the music came from: the DJ box. 

Whatever it was he expected, it definitely wasn't a badly injured Torchwick. He was chained up to the sound console with a pair of handcuffs. On the other side of the room, there was a spindly figure whose white hair stood out even in the dark. He didn't look injured at first sight, but then he focused and his arms were both twisted in weird angles. 

Whoever had done this, did it with the intent of drawing out the pain.

When he got near, he noticed that the quack was passed out – probably from pain or Aura exhaustion or both. Torchwick was very much awake and his own scarf had been used to make him keep quiet. 

As disgusting as it was, he took the thing out of his mouth and threw it aside. 

Before he could talk, the redhead coughed, muffling them with his hand. 

"About time you got here," he muttered. 

"I had other more important business to attend to," Shinji retorted, seriously considering leaving him chained up. "Care to tell me what happened here?" 

"I'll tell you if you free me," he said and even through the obvious effort to talk, he already sounded like a prick. 

"I don't need to do that; I'll just ask the kid." This was a lie. If he was smart, the kid would have scrambled off like he had been told to, but Torchwick didn't need to know that. 

Instead of the snide remark he was waiting for, he heard a tsk sound coming from him. 

"Really, after this you're no longer allowed to call me incompetent," he said and he let out a humorless laugh. 

Before he could ask why, he saw how Torchwick had gone very, very pale and before he turned, he already knew what he'd find. Behind him stood the kid he woke up before. The spikes of his hair unmistakably even in shadow form. 

Shinji repeated in his head that he was just a kid… Why was every fiber of his body yelling at him to run away? 

**♩ ♪ 'I burn, can't hold me down-n-n-n… I burn…' ♫ ♬**

From the corner of his eye, he watched the same red eyes from before, very open and wide.

Glinting in the dark. 

∞ 

Edo was not familiar with Vale; the last time he had visited had been a short scale on the way to complete his scout mission to the Patch village – an experience that he would not define as pleasant – but so far he had not been very fond of it.

The weather was a mixture of humid, fog and mild heat. There were too many people for his liking and he could hardly give two steps without some street vendor trying to sell him some silly souvenir. 

This little mission would do absolutely nothing to endear him to the place, of that he was sure. 

He turned off the engine of the bike – a rental one, much to his embarrassment, his permission did not hold any value here – and they both got off the bike.

Right, because in exchange for a – he struggled to get the word out of his mind – favor, he had temporarily struck a deal with Yuzu Hiragi. 

_'I noticed how you never mentioned our other classmates. I'm sure you want to bring them to the whole party, right?'_

When she started walking into what looked like a very sketchy building, in the middle of a very sketchy part of the city, he almost regretted taking part in all of this.

_'First, take these things off me.'_  

The General will have his badge for this, of that he was sure. 

_'Unnecessary? I thought that the White Fang threat was something the General took very, very seriously.'_  

Unless he got some good out of all of this, of course. 

_"None of you are going anywhere!" He_ _had given the order and that was final._ _"If this is an emergency_ _,_ _then I'm sure the VPD will handle anything happening in the inner city!"_

_"Oh now it's the VPD who will handle it?!"_ _the girl complained_ _at him_ _,_ _and he made another mistake of course; confident that with her hands tied down she couldn't do much_ _._ _Edo ben_ _t_ _over to repeat himself._ _.._

_...o_ _nly to feel something hard knock against his forehead with such force that for a few seconds he only saw white._

_Then_ _,_ _when the feeling went away_ _,_ _he saw her_ _already quite_ _a few feet ahead of her spot, running even with the neutralizing handcuffs on._

_"The nerve!"_ _h_ _e_ _complained to nobody_ _in particular and ran off after her_ _. S_ _he might be fast, but his legs were longer and he could actually tap into his Aura to avoid exhausting himself too soon._

_She attempted to make a turn into an alley and she jumped right on top of a trash container_ _,_ _turning over several boxes on top of him._

_There was no way this was an accident; she was getting at somewhere with this._

_And he wouldn't allow her to g_ _et_ _too far._

_He hurried his step and when he saw a wooden table positioned_ _by_ _the wall_ _,_ _he used it as a lever to jump._

_Edo had intended to land right in front of her, then she would crash against him and then_ _,_ _in the middle of her struggles_ _,_ _he would catch her._

_This time_ _,_ _he would put cuffs around her ankles too._

_Either she was too fast or he miscalculated the distance and he landed right on top of her._

_He let out a very undignified 'Ooph' sound when he felt her legs_ _kick_ _at his face in this position_ _. H_ _e grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her into the ground face first._

_"Would you calm down?!"_ _h_ _e muttered, wary of anyone watching this_ _. N_ _o matter the reason_ _,_ _a soldier like holding down a girl like her – who_ _,_ _regardless of background_ _,_ _was dressed as a civilian – would look very bad for the SPD. "You can't do anything, so you better let me escort you and your friend back to the school."_

_She got up on her knees and laughed._

_"I don't see anything funny about your situation." She managed then to get to her feet without his help and looked at him with mirth in her eyes._

_"Sure, if you can find him that is_ _,_ _"_ _s_ _he said._

_For the first time in years, Edo let out a crude curse from his mouth when he looked around him and realized he had been chasing her off for quite a few blocks already_ _. E_ _ven he wasn't as naïve as to think the sneaky guy would still be in his place._

_"Say Commander, I have a proposition for you..."_

The nearer they got to the building, the more he noticed the graffiti on the walls, empty bottles, the used needles and suspicious stains marking the asphalt. 

"I'm starting to severely question the type of education you get at Beacon," he commented when he caught up to her, who shot him a glare. "…How on earth did you kids find this place.?" 

She stopped to charge her weapon. 

"Aren't you a hunter? I'm sure you've seen worse places than this if you've earned the rank of Commander," she deadpanned while he attempted to pay attention to her weapon.

It was… unnecessarily ornate, something of the likes Atlas Academy would never allow one of its students to use. 

"That's… different," he started. "These places happen outside the walls, or maybe on the outskirts, not the inner city. What does your police department do to allow these… establishments?" When he caught sight of the broken windows and the wheel marks at the front – as if several cars had been in a real hurry to leave – and then there were the sounds of a brawl, or several of them coming from inside. 

"…Heh, I guess we can agree on that one thing," she said, and he watched with mild interested how she closed her eyes and got a concentrated look on her face.

Was she… surveying the place? From the outside?

_'Sensorial Enhancement_ _._ _'_ His mind provided for him, but Edo knew that her type of semblance was not particularly easy to handle and most of them didn't do well on the battlefield due to overexertion of it. 

He had seen some nasty examples of this. 

"Good to see you, Commander," a voice said from behind him and he had to squash down the urge of jumping in surprise. That would be very undignified of him.

"Reiji." The girl said and when he turned the Akaba boy was indeed a couple feet behind him and with the exception of the handcuff he was still donning he didn't look worse for wear. "You made it."

He couldn't have walked nor run all the way here. 

"Here, let me take care of that," she said. Much to his confusion, he watched as she pulled out her scabbard, transformed into a small gunshot with two simple movements. 

The boy put his hands forward and she fired right into the handcuffs. 

Edo saw how the bullet melted into a thick ice flow covering the surface of the device. 

Which he simply shattered onto his own knee. There was an ugly static sound and a bit of electrical discharge, but the red lights of the handcuffs had turned a dull grey and he saw the pieces fall one by one on the floor. 

That was a fabric flaw – and of course the brat from Leo Corps knew about it – that they would have to fix. 

"I see you finally made a more compact weapon," he mentioned, rubbing his wrist a bit. Edo noticed there were some slight burn marks on the skin. 

"I got the idea from Yaiba, but I have yet to report it to the Headmaster. I haven't decided on a name yet," she said, looking little too proud of herself. 

Edo was getting very tired of being upstaged by a couple of kids. Trained, yes, but kids nonetheless; the rational part of him knew he had to watch and wait. After all, the more they got confident and cocky around him, the more leverage and proof of their involvement he got on them. 

Another less… sensible part of him was busy calling himself a mockery of an Atlas Specialist who had to rely on students to get good intel on the workings of Vale and Beacon. 

And most importantly, the White Fang. 

"I already surveyed the place," Reiji said. "As you can tell, there's an ongoing fight inside this place. So far, I've counted two severely injured people, two with a few broken bones here and there, and the rest of the group, I counted around 15 or 16 people are fighting… it." 

They both got very quiet when he finished talking. The girl in particular was grimacing and Reiji looked contemplative. 

"And Yaiba?" she asked and she started to bite on her lip.

"I have yet to find him. I found his scroll a bit beaten up, but still functional. It looks like the last thing he did was call us," he answered, and she looked worried now. "I already called the others for…" He paused, looking purposefully at him. "…reinforcements." 

To this, Edo finally perked up and as discreetly as he could, activated the silent alarm from his scroll. 

Soon, true reinforcements would be brought here.

"It's okay, we can …work with him, for now," Yuzu said and waved at him to join the talk. "Commander, we need someone who scouts the area from any snooping around or maybe some people who may still be around to tell us what happened Given that you're the only one with a bike right now, we thought…" she trailed off. 

Basically, whatever 'it' was happening in there, they didn't want any witnesses dealing with the situation.

"And will you two be doing in the meantime?" he asked, lifting his eyebrow. Why should he, a seasoned hunter, be letting them be the ones entering the fray?

"You don't know the appearance of the person whom we're looking for," Reiji answered, adjusting his glasses. It was a habit Edo was beginning to find very annoying. 

"Then show me his picture," he countered. 

"The thing is… he got here in disguise," Yuzu intervened, at the very least sounding a bit apologetic. "Even if we show you a picture and give you a full description, it's not a guarantee that you will find him." 

…They know something, he realized; or at least they had a lead, and rather than do the sensible thing and report it to the authorities, they had decided to break the law and play heroes. 

Edo felt something inside him snap at this. Even if what she was saying was true, there was no way he was going to allow them to do whatever they wanted. For all he knew, there were dangerous people hiding, and they could have information about the attack. 

He was done playing games. 

"You are very …ridiculous, you know that right?" He started feeling his entire demeanor change. He squared his shoulders, narrowed his eyes and locked his hands behind his back. "You are wildly out of your depth, and have this grandiose sense of self-importance. You probably think that you're the only ones who can do this, right?" They both glared at him, but he couldn't care less for their opinions at the moment. "Consider yourselves warned: All the units of the VPD, the Atlesian Knights and patrols have been alerted by me to come to this place. If you have any sense, you will leave this matter to the professionals." 

Edo didn't wait for an answer, he simply turned. He immediately felt something on the fabric of his jacket.

A muzzle.

"Careful Miss Hiragi, I wouldn't want to see myself forced to arrest you again," he warned her. 

"You…you… jerk!" she yelled. "You talk all the same, you know! You and the General… You are a mockery of a hunter!" 

When she finished he did turn to face her and without much effort, he swatted her hand away.

"Drop your weapon, Miss Hiragi." And he looked at Reiji, whose hand was also dangerously close to the holster of his weapon. "The same goes for you, because I assure you that the moment you raise your weapons at me, I will treat you as obstacles to be removed, and then you will know why you're still years too early to even try to advocate anything resembling a Hunter's duty." 

Her hand trembled, he realized, and he knew his words had gotten under her skin. 

"I am a hunter, but first and foremost, I'm an Atlas soldier. I know where my loyalties lie." Reiji's eyes narrowed when he said this. "Kingdoms don't have principles or morals. They only have interests." 

It was a good time as any for them to realize this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised here's another chapter, and things are getting heated up now!
> 
> Thank you to AnimeGirl 144 for the beta reading! As usual you always do a great job!


	10. 9.- Search & Destroy (Stage Six)

Everything was dark.

Dark was good. Dark kept him hidden and ready for another strike.

But it was also loud; too loud.

All the noise coming from different places at the same time, it made his ears ring and rattled him up.

More than that, those were steps. Steps meant people. He didn't like people.

His body adjusted itself to sit lower to the ground and prowled, little by little.

They all moved in groups, and they were never giving him their back. Even their breathing fell into predictable patterns.

How boring.

At least the other ones had squealed and cursed him after some resistance.

Then there was someone different… This one was alone…He barked some orders. He was the leader.

But would he be fun to play with?

He allowed himself to be seen and waited for a reaction. He was unable to keep the reflex of his leg under control.

The man knew what he was doing.

"Hey, kid, wake up."

There was a giddy feeling in his gut at his words and he only doubted to raise to keep the laugher in.

"My friend, he was here with me… I can't find him…"

He got a good look at him: he was tall, well built, the hair was a vibrant shade of blue… a mask.

He hated masks too… but his horns… They were pretty…He couldn't help but wonder how much force he would need to crack them.

Maybe he could cut them instead or tear them from the base with his teeth.

The man had been speaking, but his words were unimportant and he noticed the skin on the neck was open.

He let him walk away a little, see what he made out of his other playthings.

 _"_ _About time you got here_ _._ _"_

Huh? Had he left them alive? He had stopped playing with them when they went quiet.

 _"_ _Care to tell me what happened here?"_

His gut was clawing at him and his blood rushed through his body, feeling his body tighten in preparation.

Soon.

 _"_ _Really, after this you're no longer allowed to call me incompetent."_

His eyes focused on him again and he smelt the cold sweat on his skin… yet there was still doubt.

The weapon remained sheathed even after he shed the act.

One of the other playthings was attempting to play death, but the he could still smell fresh blood.

The other one was murmuring something unimportant

He would get back at that one soon enough.

The blunt side of his staff was stopped by his arm, and there was a sweet crackling noise under the skin.

He smiled.

The fun had just started.

 

∞ 

"This is the place?" asked Yugo to Sawatari, whom after one look at the building had his face turning slightly blue.

"Yup, this is it," he replied. He got down from the bike, legs wobbling. He looked for support on the nearest wall. "You know? When I said you couldn't out run the police, it wasn't a challenge!"

He just let out a bark of laughter because he looked like he was about to puke.

"Sorry... for me that has become a type of hobby," he said, pulling his arms over his head.

"Do I even want to know?"

"Heh, probably not." Then he just left the bike and looked at the building and he whistled. Sawatari had talked about this place as if it was some rundown place, but honestly, it looked – along with the entire neighborhood – much better than some of the slums he frequented back home.

"Seems like the others aren't here yet."

"The glasses guy and the pigtails girl already are," he said after he caught her hair and his scarf's colors in the distance. "Uh? They're with someone… Don't know him, but he's dressed in all white and… he has badges; I think?" He had to squint and even then he wasn't all that sure, but what else did people put on their chests? "It looks like they're in trouble… but can't make out what they're saying."

"Then it's better if we don't get near for the time being…." Sawatari said. "And soon a whole entourage will be here."

"So, we stick to the plan," he said and they both nodded in confirmation.

"So far…" he said and Yugo knew he was staring at him because he felt he hairs on his neck prickle. "Can I you ask something?"

"Sure," he replied, not tearing his eyes from the little group just outside the building.

"Why are you guys – you and the other…um… girl – here?" He did turn when he heard that and now he noticed that Sawatari was actively avoiding looking at his tail.

"Do you have a problem with it? Did we dampen your mood or something?" he asked and grinned cheekily at him.

"What?! No! Of course I… don't have any problem with you and your people! I was just asking because this… I can't even explain but it doesn't…"

He couldn't help it. It looked like the boy was going to faint for not breathing in between his words, and so Yugo laughed. Or at least he attempted it because they were still supposed to be hidden and quiet.

"It's because we crashed your little mission?"

"…That's not how I was going to say it."

"But that's what it would have meant."

"Point taken," Sawatari admitted with a pout. "But… also, I don't get it. What's in it for you? You're not from Beacon, nor Vale. You've probably never even heard about the Hall and the first time we meet, we got you all in detention… and I guess that's my question."

"Ask Rin. I just went along because she wanted to," he answered and went back to look at the other guys. It looked and _sounded_ like things were getting a little heated.

"You can't tell me that's the only reason," Sawatari said, his jaw dropping a little bit.

"Don't believe me then," he commented, shrugging. When he was about to ask something else, he lifted his hand and pointed at the club.

"I think your pink-haired friend just rushed in there."

∞

He shot again, and this time there was no denying it: he had pierced the skin right into his chest. He stumbled a slightly bit and then there was a metallic thud where the used up bullet had no doubt fell.

That was a blue bullet, there was no doubt about it.

How was he still moving?

But he (it?) was, and this time, he had no bullets left for a retreat. He had no other choice than to fight.

Usually Shinji did not shy away from any fight. He did not relish in it, but it was a necessary part of everyday life.

Now, just finding a firm grasp on it felt like he was fighting every instinct in his whole body.

The one that told him to run away, even his hand felt slippery.

It had been years since this feeling had made him freeze like this and the sweat of his skin made his hand slip past the handle.

There was still a chance to get the upper hand.

He threw it at his feet, and made a dull noise that nonetheless caught his attention.

A smokescreen exploded around him in a few seconds and he charged, his mask protecting him from the stinging gas.

Shinji went for the shoulder. If he could incapacitate his movements then maybe…

His stomach was met with a punch that made him stagger.

By mere reflex, his other hand went for his switchblade and aimed the blunt part directly at his neck. His eyes narrowed at him and he disappeared right in front of his eyes.

The glint of a blade was barely visible when he turned; when it slashed his back.

There would be no wound, but the quick and small opening of his Aura shield felt like it was burning, right until it closed on its own.

His shield was thinned as a result.

And before he could even think about it, there was a second blade coming at him.

This time, he stopped it with his own blade.

Because of the position, Shinji was forced to face reality: he was facing against an opponent that, for all intents and purposes, looked like a kid.

And not a particularly buff or older-looking one, either.

Still… there was something out of place with him, he could just feel it. It wasn't his strengths, his speed, or even his apparent healing factor.

"You are finally being fun." The voice coming from that boy was like a growl, like a predator coming out for blood.

The cruel smile and the mad glee in his eyes was the most unsettling sight he'd seen in years. There was something... monstrous and inhuman about it.

It had been a while since an opponent made him feel this way.

The last time, he had been facing against a Creature of Grimm.

His weapon gave out and the blade pierced his Aura again. This time he concentrated the remaining one on his aching junctures and forced himself to keep up.

But true to his observation, the boy did not follow a pattern or a strategy.

When the little boy had jumped at him, Shinji met him with all the strength he could muster and grabbed him by the neck.

The sound of his body slamming against the floor gave a sickening crunch, but after a few seconds, he was still grinning at him; taunting him.

In a few seconds, Shinji had him on his back, his hand pressing on his throat, a knee on his ribs and he activated the blade of his weapon, hovering it right above the kid's eyes.

His eyes locked with his and in them he saw nothing but hunger.

That was all he needed.

It meant that if he was going to be facing a beast, he would bring him down like a beast.

 

 **"** **STOP!!!"**

∞

 

"What do you mean there's a White Fang meeting in the middle of the city?!" the chief roared in his face the moment he informed him that all the active units had been moved to a single meeting point.

"That was the order directly from the top, sir!" Tito answered, making a great effort not to stammer his words.

"I am the one in charge here, the only ones authorized to make this move are either me, the Council or…" The boss went very quiet and his eyes widened upon realization. "Don't tell me..."

"It was them, sir. The Commander to be precise."

"Did they provide any warrant? Proof? An informant? On what basis are they making this claim?"

"On a witness, apparently."

"Just the one?"

He checked the details alarm on the scroll again, just to be sure.

"Yes, sir, it appears so."

There were a lot of turned heads, embarrassed people and even some snickers following the string of curses that left the boss' mouth.

"Of course they'd do this," the old man complained, sinking in his seat. "They could have just taken their fancy ships and robots to the place, but no, they had to get us involved too!"

"Sir?" Tito asked, confused. After all, hadn't it been the Council's orders that gave the Atlas military jurisdiction over their forces?

"Tito, you're relatively new here. You've never been involved in providing security for something as huge as the Vytal Festival, and you've never dealt with _them_ before. So let me educate you: If this 'witness' turns out to be reliable and we do end up winning something with this, all the credit will go to the Commander for making the right call at a moment of need." He made quotations signs at the last phrase. "While we get a pat on the back, some congratulations, maybe, which sounds all well and nice, but if this ends up turning on us…"

"Then we will end up taking the blame because it's happening in Vale and how could we not know better about our city," Tito surmised, completing the sentence. "So, what do we do now?"

"Go to the meeting place, and make sure none of my people are hurt in whatever hell it may unleash," the boss ordered. "Unlike them, we don't have the luxury of losing personnel."

 

∞

 

The split of a second that took Shinji to register the shriek that pierced through his ears was enough time for his opponent to wiggle his way out of his chokehold.

And of course, the thing went and jumped right on top of his shoulder to see the newcomer. Most likely to see if the new blood would be worth the effort.

But he would have none of it. When it looked like he was about to plunge toward the new target, he activated the second blade of his switchblade and slashed through the ankle.

The spin his body gave was too quick and unnatural for a normal body.

But the attention of this little beast was back on him, and that's what counted, because now Shinji could clearly look at the shouting person.

Another kid; a girl by the looks of it.

Before he could wonder why in heaven's name there were so many kids in this place, the boy had attacked him again.

When he used his momentum in his favor to spin him and slam him against the nearest wall, he realized something.

If he was this fast and agile… and his body had felt so impossibly light too.

Good, now he had an angle.

It looked like he was momentarily unconscious from the hit, but he wasn't about to fall for the same trick twice.

"STOP!" He heard again, this time much closer.

The girl had managed to walk in between all the debris and was now standing right behind him.

That's when he noticed she was holding a sword and a shield.

His eyes narrowed at the realization; a huntress? She looked too young to be one yet, but she and her weapon also looked too polished to be something from the black market.

"Get out of here," he snapped, walking toward the boy again.

"No! You need to get out of here, I'll handle this!" she ordered, placing her hand on his arm.

She walked past him and by her stance, he knew now that she planned to take him on.

"If you're gonna fight that… boy, why did you stop me before?"

"Because you were going to kill him," she said and they both heard debris moving.

"He was going to kill me," he reminded her and her lips pursued at the answer.

"I know…" The way she said it, it sounded like an apology. "Just… let me do this. I know how to handle him."

And without waiting for his answer, she continued making her way to where the boy's red hair was visible again.

He highly doubted it, and he briefly considered joining her. At the very least, she would make a good distraction.

Then he heard them in the distance: police sirens.

And then, there was no decision to be made.

.

.

.

Yuzu didn't know if she was supposed to feel relieved or not when the man left them. The same seemed to happen to all the sounds of the people in the building, who seemed to respond to a low whistle that even she could barely make out in between all the noise.

That and, of course, most of her attention was focused on him.

When the other man's steps disappeared she saw his chest deflate in disappointment and then rise again in a fit of rage.

One that he was now planning to let out on her.

There were sparks flying around them when the blade of Yuya's staff met her shield.

She had not necessarily been lying to the man – or to Reiji – when she said she knew how to handle this.

Just as usual, all his strength was focused on one single attack at the time, and she made a stab at his arms.

His strength faltered and she pushed forward.

Only to feel a punch to her chest that shoved her backwards.

She just omitted the part where she had never done it all on her own.

A low cackle reached her ears while she felt her bones mending on their own – Yuya had never, _never_ broken a bone on her – and his eyes seemed to glint even brighter in the dark.

Her breath hitched when she saw that the staff was now shifting in the air, the chains inside it rattling.

Yuzu had only a single second to put herself together before she blocked one slash after another.

Every time she avoided a stab at a vital point, there was a small new cut on her skin.

It burned and she had to keep herself from allowing her Aura to mend it.

A few drops of blood would be nothing if she allowed him to exhaust her.

When he was like this, Yuya moved too fast and there were several openings, but none of them lasted too long for her to make a successful attack.

She had to break past his defense.

Taking a deep breath, she allowed his chains to hit her on her arm, but she made it so that the chain wrapped around her shield, the blade sinking in her hand.

He lost his balance when she pulled and used the handle of her sword to hit him right in the stomach.

Her arm felt heavy when she used it to soften his fall.

It always worked, and he had already been exhausted when she arrived-

.

.

.

There was a heavy and ugly thud when Yuya's body fell to the ground, her hold on him loosened while she gasped for breath and her vision was getting blurry.

Yuzu fell to her knees when the impact against her back managed to shut down her Aura.

With her free hand, she attempted to grasp the handle of her sword, but before she could, she felt another shot, this time at her still injured arm.

There was a thud from when she herself hit the floor.

Her chest heaved from the effort, but all the energy she had left was being unconsciously redirected to her wounds.

It hurt to even try to focus her eyes when she noticed an approaching figure.

Maybe someone helping? Possibly, based on how that person he was checking now for Yuya's pulse and breathing.

She saw how he was being covered with a white sheet… with sleeves.

Yuzu's eyes shot open again; it wasn't a sheet or a blanket. It was a coat and the hands that were carrying Yuya did it without any care and simply placed him over his shoulder like he was a bag of potatoes or something.

There was another shadow, slimmer one who was also carrying someone else. She managed to see the wild and long brown hair.

Yaiba.

The behind of the first shadow became clearer as she forced her sight to focus and she almost choked when she saw the red hair.

"Thank you for taming him, Pinky! See ya!"

She tried to get up, watching as they ran to the back of the building, but then she was blinded by too many lights at the same time. All the windows and doors were broken while a huge amount of copsand soldiers broke into the place.

 

∞

 

When Masumi arrived to the meeting place, she found that she and Rin had been the last ones to join the party.

In the middle of the street were several police cars closing the street. They managed to bypass them easily, but stil had to avoid meeting either the Atlas soldiers or the White Fang fighters that were facing against them.

The latter ones could possibe recognize them from the meeting or not, and the former could consider them targets on the mere sight of Rin's horns.

Right now, they were hidden behind an abandoned car while a fight was finishing. Judging by the slight growls and the mechanical sound of the weapon closing, she could only assume that whoever the unlucky Faunus was, he would be arrested now.

She made signs to Rin to go from the car to the next building while the officer was busy.

Rin didn't follow. She was instead glaring at the scene.

The Faunus was being put on his knees, ready to be handcuffed, Masumi assumed, and she attempted to pull Rin by her arm.

Then she saw the charged weapon.

Being put against the nape of the poor sap.

Without thinking it, Masumi grabbed a few rocks between her feet and threw them at the head of the officer holding the weapon.

His head snapped and everything went quiet again while he searched for the source of the sound, and she went very quiet.

Masumi's illusions did not account for noise.

"Stay put, dog." Was the command given by him and set off to the apparent source. She dropped the illusion when he was at a good distance from them.

When she stood up, she noticed Rin walking toward the newly made prisoner.

"What do you want?" he practically yelled. Rin put her finger to her lips, and from her belt she took her weapon; a small, silvery shield… No, not a shield. With a single motion of her arm, a handle appeared from within, and what conformed the plate of the 'shield' moved to make to opposite blades.

A pole axe.

Masumi could only stare as she delivered a hard blow to the cuffs of the Faunus.

It was a clean cut and the halves fell on the ground.

"Go," she said and didn't need to repeat it because the Faunus nodded his thanks and ran in the opposite direction.

Rin stared at her then, no, she was glaring; as if daring Masumi to question what she had just done.

But at this point, she was out of any arguments, so she pointed in the direction where she could see the blue glint of a scroll.

They ran to the sign and Masumi struggled a bit to catch up with Rin, who was too freaking fast even when she could tell she was trying to keep up with her.

When they stopped – and she was glad that at least she seemed to have a better inertia control than her – she was met with Sawatari, Yugo and Reiji looking at them from atop of a bunch of wooden boxes.

The moment they both climbed on top of them, she noticed that they were the only ones waiting for them. Before she could ask anything, Reiji approached her and explained everything she missed out on.

"Where's Yaiba? Yuzu and Yuya?!" Was the first thing Masumi asked after she had been made aware of the situation.

It was the only thing that managed to keep her from punching Reiji right in the face. He was the one with the so-called ‘plan’, he was the one who spur them into following his lead… it was his fault that she had to find out about her… family.

And she was the one who agreed to all that

"I believe I can answer that question," said a new voice, and before any of them could do or say anything else, behind Masumi landed a young person. Silver hair, blue eyes and a pale complexion, not to mention the white military uniform meant he was an Atlesian officer.

Around their surrounding area, Masumi could see how they covered all their possible escape routes.

What was happening?

"Let me go! You jerks!!!" But any questions she may have had died on her tongue when she saw that another two officers had Yuzu restrained. Both of them had a firm hold on her arms and were tall enough for her feet not to touch the ground. "You got it all wrong! They took them! Right before you!"

"Yuzu!" Sawatari yelled and walked up to her, only for the silver-haired man to block his way.

"Commander Phoenix." This time it was Reiji who talked and she could swear he was getting more pissed off by the second. Probably because of how the soldiers manhandled Yuzu. "You are out of line!"

"Those are big words for someone who keeps such…" The man trailed off to glare at Rin and Yugo, who were sticking together at the back of their group. "…unsavory company."

"Go to hell!" Yugo yelled from the back and marched forward, ignoring Rin's warning look. "As if you are one to talk, having her restrained like that. And for what, anyway?"

The 'Commander' didn't seem like he wanted to acknowledge Yugo, but seeing as he seemed very capable of throwing all his inconsiderable weight on him, he thought better of it.

"If you need to know…" he started, shrugging. "Miss Hiiragi here, along with Mr. Akaba - and all of you by association, if I must say - are withholding information that is key to the security of the Festival and have continuously refused to cooperate with us."

"W-What?! I told you just now what happened! And you refuse to let me go and get back my friends!! Guys, I saw him! I saw him take Yuya and Yaib-" Yuzu yelled. One of the soldiers, who seemed to have had enough, attempted to silence her with his hand.

Masumi almost winced when Yuzu bit down hard on the man's hand.

"You are not helping your case with those shameful acts of violence." He then seemed to notice how they all had walked slowly to them and had them surrounded. "Yes, your friend here tried to divert our attention with ludicrous details about some petty criminal abducting your classmates barely seconds before we entered the area." He made a 'tsk' noise making clear he didn't believe a word.

"Stop talking as if I'm a liar!"

"I would never call you such, miss. I do however think your eyes might have deceived you," he said, eyeing at her again. "As you are aware, one of the symptoms of Aura exhaustion can be sensory hallucinations."

Yuzu's jaw dropped, speechless and Masumi couldn't blame her. If it was her, she would have attempted to break free for the sole purpose of kicking him in the gut.

"How?" Reiji asked, stepping forward even closer.

"Excuse me?"

"You just admitted that the wounds and emotional state seem to be product of Aura exhaustion. Can you please tell me how she sustained such injuries in between the time she stormed inside and when you and your search party found her?"

Now that seemed to leave him speechless.

"That's… not important at the moment," he countered, trying to cover his disconcert with a cough. "Even if we were to assume that Miss Hiragi's attacker managed to get out of sight just before we entered, we have closed the entire zone for two miles. Even if they managed to get out of the building, they would never be able to break such security without it being obvious, especially if they are indeed carrying two unconscious people with them," he explained and by the time he finished talking, he seemed to have convinced himself of his own bullshit.

"And what if they slip by anyway?" Rin challenged out of nowhere. "That will be two Beacon students disappeared in one night, under an operation you were overseeing. How do you think the local news will react to this?"

The fact that unlike Reiji, Rin barely reached his shoulder and still managed to look as if she was the one looking down on him, seemed to make him a bit more… emotional when he spoke again.

From the corner of her eyes, Masumi saw how all the soldiers, even the ones holding Yuzu, were all looking among each other, probably not accustomed to seeing their boss' orders being questioned, let alone by a bunch of kids.

In any other situation, she might have laughed.

"The only way anyone could ever pass the security borders we installed would be with an airship or with more sophisticated military equipment, which only the SPD has access t-"

In one fleeting moment, a whole half of the club disappeared and in its place she saw how slowly a metallic structure lifted on its own from the debris.

She recognized it. She saw it just today at the Faunus' meeting point.

Absolutely no one in the place could move as the massive thing – she could see too that there was a chamber meant to fit the pilot of this thing – lifted to its full height, and started to shoot at all the soldiers who stood in its way, making its way into the barricade of the officers.

For something so huge, it was incredibly fast, and none of the cars or the Atlesian Knights seemed to be able to keep up with it.

"Like that one?" Yugo asked, his eyes still glued to where the robot was still roaming.

Masumi couldn't help herself, even knowing that she would most likely regret this, but she laughed.

It was just too much.

 

∞

 

***RED ALERT INCOMING***

***TO ALL CITIZENS WHO FIND THEMSELVES** **I** **N THE AREA SURROUNDING THE GREEN DISTRICT AND ITS SURROUNDING AREAS** **:** **WE BEG YOU TO KEEP CALM AND EVACUATE TO THE NEAREST REFUGE** **CENTER** **IN THE MOST ORGANIZED POSSIBLE MANNER.***

 

Carly was barely done entering the office when the alarms blared all over the place and every screen in the building was broadcasting the message. After a whole solid minute of silence there was people running around, yelling, using their scrolls.

"I knew it! I knew that the Velaris Hall was only the beginning!"

"What are we going to do?!"

"Agh! Just when I was about to end my article!"

Talk about skewed priorities, and being ill prepared too. Luckily a group of officers had entered the building and started guiding everyone back into some order and reminded them the instruction to evacuate – which were a standard to know for the job anyway, but Carly wasn't going to judge, no sir – and reassured people that this was not a breach type of alert.

Of course not, it was red, not-

"Carly!" She heard a voice calling for her from the top of the stairs. It was her boss, the one who had sent her to her report.

"Thank heavens you're okay!" He spoke before he stopped to catch a breath, "Damn, I really need to quit smoking. Anyway, I was so worried because I thought you were swept in the disaster!"

She felt a bit reassured by the words and was about to say so, when he spoke again:

"I mean, can you imagine if we were to lose our story about the incident?! All our hard work and time investment would have gone down the drain!"

'Our?' Her mind yelled at him, but she held it in and only nodded with a forced smile.

"I mean, I was already surprised beyond belief when you told me that your search had actually given fruits, and of course that if you would have been out there caught in the mayhem that would be even better. Can you imagine? Two stories in less than a wee-"

Carly tuned her boss out when the officers made them join the evacuation group, simply bothering to nod and say 'uh' and 'ah' whenever she saw fit.

 _'_ _I love my job, I love my job, I love my job…'_

The times when she needed to remind herself of this were becoming more and more often.

 

∞

 

_To the one which I love the most in my life_

_I need to tell my feelings to you_

"Are you completely sure this is what happened?" he asked her again.

"There is no mistaking it," she said and waited for the professor to think for a little while. "Unless you believe I would ever allow these type of things to get out of hand?"

 

_I am very plain and weird, but_

_I want to you to hear those words._

With that, Ozpin looked at her this time and simply smiled.

"My apologies if my silence ever implied that, Glynda," he said and went back to look at the crowd. "This just complicates matters even more."

"Does it really?" She found herself asking and when Ozpin prompt her to continue, she did. "I had been thinking… we could simply remove Roger from the equation."

The slight tightening of his hold on the coffee cup was the only answer she needed.

_At this time, little by little…_

_I come to know a new side of you_.

 

"I thought you disagreed with James' methods?" he questioned her pleasantly, but he may as well have thrown scalding coffee at her face.

"That is not… I just don't understand why you tolerate his presence here at Beacon, when we have plenty reasons to suspect him," Glynda started, the look on the man's face was still fresh in her mind.

 

_From deep within my body_

_A blinding light is overflowing_

 

"Do you understand what consequences it could bring if someone held in such high regard – regardless of reasons – would meet their end inside a foreign kingdom? Let alone inside the school walls?"

It was all him playing the pieces to his favor. He had made a grand show of worry over the many enemies. Someone with his 'controversial' stances on 'touchy subjects' had and how much of an opportunity it was for them to catch him off guard outside of his domains. Then he had landed himself an accommodation at the main building of the school.

 

_With fairytale magic_

_All this studying is in vain, so just kiss me_

_Don't dream away your days, because this isn't a dream_

Where the pool of possible threats and thus suspects dwindled all too significantly.

"I understand, but there are other less… lethal ways to get rid of him," she pressed, not happy about the arrangement at all.

 

_Let's begin today's lecture_

"Until we have definite proof that he has attempted against the security of my students, then my hands are tied, Glynda," he explained, and she could only swallow the vile down her throat. "…However, yours aren't. It's my job to uphold diplomacy; yours is to remove obstacles that might be presented in the educational environment."

 

_The amount of my love still isn't enough_

_I just can't seem to convey my feelings to you_

Glynda felt herself smile at the glint she saw in the Professor's eyes.

"Thank you, sir," she said and allowed herself to look at the crowd again, all cheering and singing along. "We ought to inform them of the Red Alert."

 

_Dear Lord, please I want to know_

_How to love_

_I still can't seem to understand it_

_This love of ours is full of sparks_

_I think that could include happiness too_

_From deep within my heart, a fast rhythm is rumbling_

"Not now…" he told her, waving his hand, just in time to see someone on the impromptu concert throwing tons of glitter to the crowd. 

"Let them enjoy the show."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! This chapter was another rollescoaster, because I had to do "Yuya's" POV, and fight scenes with his wild side, but i was actually quite happy with the result!
> 
> Thank you to AnimeGirl 144 for the beta reading!


End file.
